Carving Footsteps on a Map
by Aran Grace
Summary: Family issues, obsessive boys, and continuous prank after prank. Fifth year at Hogwarts seems set to start off with a bang indeed… First fanfic.
1. 1) A Wilting Flower

_Chapter One_

_A Wilting Flower_

**Hey guys, this is my first fanfic, so please review for ideas etc. Enjoy! Mischief Managed.**

Lily Evans awoke with a start to something tapping her window.

Sighing, she lifted herself off of her bed and ambled towards her window, still half-asleep. Lily was usually quite good with mornings - they were her favourite part of the day. The earlier you woke up, the better. You could see the first rays of the sun leaking into the empty sky, and you could hear the birds singing happily without a care in the world. But this time, Lily found that she wasn't able to truly appreciate the morning as she should. Her head was heavy and groggy from lack of sleep - how could she sleep, when her sister had practically ignored her the whole summer holiday?

She shook her head, as if this would help clear such unresolved matters and drive away her body's instinct to wrap itself up in blankets like a cocoon. She lifted the window latch and nearly fell over in her clumsy sleep-deprived state as an owl rocketed inside her room.

She collapsed in fatigue against her bedside table, choosing to gape at the creature instead of taking the attached letter like she usually did. _Let him come to me, _she begged. Nothing had come to her during the summer holidays, especially not Tuney. Her chest was aching in a place where the role of her older sister had left her, turning her pointed nose snobbishly the other way.

The owl regarded Lily for a few seconds in curiosity, before hopping towards her bravely. Lily's bright green eyes glittered as they had not during the wearisome holidays. The owl quickly dropped the envelope at Lily's bare feet before smoothly swooping out of the window into the lightening sky.

Lily remained in her defeated position, then slowly reached forward to grasp the envelope, her only connection to the world in which she belonged. She tore it open with gusto that she usually reserved for heated class debates (in which she usually won) and pulled out the thin sheath of paper providing the information she would need to start her fifth year at Hogwarts.

She scanned through the letter quickly, which stated what it always did considering the books she would need and the leaving time of the Hogwarts Express. She tossed it to the floor in agitation, wishing there was something more that she could spend her morning deciphering. Anything would be better than going down to breakfast where the still and sniffily silent presence of her sister haunted her.

_But wait, what's this? _Lily's fingers trembled slightly as she realised that there was indeed more to the letter. Concealed in the torn wrappings of what had once been an envelope, Lily fumbled until she grasped a sewn badge with the triumphant red letter 'P' etched on.

Lily's heart quickened. She slid out another piece of paper and read this letter more slowly, as if it were some fascinating newspaper article.

_Miss Evans,_

_I am delighted to inform you that you have been chosen as one of Gryffindor's Prefects_

She needn't read much further.

Her eager eyes had latched onto the word "Prefects" with a new hunger. Now the badge made sense. Hands trembling, she held up her Prefect badge to her pyjama top with excitement. Her top was a rusty red colour, clashing perfectly with both her hair and her new badge, but who cared? Certainly not Lily. All she currently cared about was the soft badge in her hands.

Her first immediate thought was to rush into Tuney's room with the good news. Tuney would be ever so proud of her little sister! They would sit on Tuney's bed and discuss every detail of what this new promotion could mean for Lily…

Lily's excited breaths faltered. Tuney? She felt as if her head had just been doused into the icy water of reality. Tuney couldn't care less about Lily now being a Prefect, let alone Lily herself. No, not Tuney. Petunia now. Petunia had stated rather haughtily at the beginning of the holidays that she would 'much prefer it' if Lily 'refrained from the use of such a silly, childish nickname, thank you very much'. Lily sighed a little too heavily for a fourteen year old, carefully folding the badge into her pants pocket. No, it would never do to rush into Petunia's room at this hour of the morning. That was something that had long ago become a forgotten memory of Lily's earlier childhood.

Feeling leaden once more, she pondered briefly over running to her parent's bedroom with the news, but thought better of it almost immediately. All her parents would do was gush over how clever and perfect she was, and that would make Tu-Petunia even more jealous than she already was. Yes, Lily thought bitterly, no matter how hard Petunia tried to make her feel like a freak, she could always easily tell that it was Petunia who longed to be what Lily was: a witch. And although Petunia rarely spoke the word, as if it were a taboo, she would always remember the first time Petunia had discovered her abilities.

_"How do you do it?"_

There had been a definite longing in Petunia's pale eyes, Lily remembered.

She shook her head, clearing it of her morbid memories. It did not do to dwell on dreams, after all. Lily dejectedly placed her new badge inside her desk drawer; maybe she would tell her parents later.

How wonderful it was to have to tip-toe around her home in the fear of angering the troll that was Petunia Evans.

She sat in defeat for a few minutes longer, before deciding that moping wouldn't help anything. Pushing herself off of the floor, she ambled over to the bathroom that her and Petunia unfortunately had to share. She hopped over to the closed door of her sister's room and pressed her ear against the wood, straining for sounds of an awake and grumpy Petunia. However, all she heard were light snores, thank Merlin.

Lily walked over to the bathroom mirror and scrutinised her reflection blearily. She was as pale as she had ever been, though thankfully she did not seem to have fallen into the trap of acne that arrived with the age of the teenager. Her dark red hair was rather messy, trailing to her elbows. Huffing in agitation, she reached for a hairbrush and tugged it through her bed-head 'do, wincing as she did. She attacked her hair with a few more harsh strokes, as if blaming her fiery hair for her problems, before replacing the brush on the counter with a slight feeling of satisfaction.

_Buck up, Lily Evans. There's no need to start your fifth year with an attitude like that! Besides, you're a Prefect now!_

She grinned rather forcefully, then skipped out of the bathroom, through her door and bounced down the stairs three at a time, her feet flying higher than they should be. She really was a morning sort of person.

She skidded to a stop at the kitchen entrance, deciding that she would make breakfast. Why not start off the day with her best foot forward?

Lily almost felt like Snow White as she set about making a fruit salad, humming and dancing all the while. She even took it so far as to open the window and lean out to search for any birds who could sing along with her, but gave up as she realised that the birds had long ago left. Birds were up even earlier than Lily. Sure, Lily loved mornings, but she wouldn't, she _couldn't_ wake up at five _everyday. _The very thought!

As Lily worked away in a daze, her thoughts once again drifted towards her estranged sister, as if the subject was inevitable. She wondered what would have happened if it had been Petunia who had discovered she was a witch, Petunia who had received her first Hogwarts acceptance letter by owl, Petunia who had waved goodbye to her family on Platform nine and three quarters happily and boarded the magical Hogwarts Express with Severus as her only friend by her side. Would Lily have turned out to be the jealous, haughty sister who shunned the family's magical freak? How would she feel if she had been the one to watch the Hogwarts Express chug away, knowing her sister was about to embark on a lifelong magical journey that she couldn't ever experience? Lily bit her lip. She knew that even if she would have undoubtedly felt left out, she would _never _have treated Petunia the way Petunia had treated her.

It was unfair.

Lily had to bite her lip harder to stop her eyes from leaking tears. It would never do for her family to see her cry in the morning for a reason she couldn't possibly ever tell them, not really.

"You're up early, love!"

Lily looked up as she was meticulously laying the table to see her mother walk in, yawning. Her mum smiled at the pleasant sight before her, pale blue eyes still slightly crusty with sleep. "Well aren't you an angel," she murmured, pulling her youngest daughter into a soft hug. Lily closed her eyes, breathing in the sweet smell of her mother's blonde hair.

Her mother pulled back all too soon for Lily, gazing at her as if she hadn't seen her for a while. "Look at you," she said, eyes roving all over her daughter. "Why, you're all grown up, Miss Evans!" she sang loudly.

Lily restrained herself from rolling her eyes. "Mum, it's not like I can't cook, you know. Why do you think Potions is my favourite subject?" she responded cheekily.

Her mum chuckled. "I've always known that my two daughters would inherit their fabulous cooking skills from their mother," she pondered wisely. "It's pure British luck that you didn't learn from your father," she added.

"What is there to learn?" Lily muttered. Her mum burst out laughing.

"I'll never forget the time that he had to make dinner for you and your sister when I was out,"

Lily smiled reminiscently at the memory. "He asked me how to use the microwave, before giving up and making us toast." Her mum laughed harder. "And if I remember correctly, the toast was burnt…"

When Lily's father entered the kitchen it was to find his wife laughing almost hysterically while his daughter grinned triumphantly.

He smiled happily, keen green eyes darting between the two. "What did I miss, ladies?" He walked over to Lily, giving her a one-armed hug. Lily glanced at her mum, who was breathing rather quickly, clutching her stomach. "You don't want to know." she said darkly.

Andrew Evans gazed at his daughter's carefree expression. "I haven't seen you smile for a while, flower," he said softly. "What's been bothering you?"

Lily's expression turned strangely neutral. Trust her dad to figure out that something was up. She looked back into his eyes, finding her own bright eyes staring back at her, and opened her mouth.

"What's all the racket about?"

Lily's mouth clamped closed as her head snapped up. In the doorway stood a pyjama-clad scruffy-haired Petunia, blinking owlishly with a scowl on her face, as if still half asleep. _Which is likely, _Lily thought bitterly. As different as the sisters were in looks, they were in personalities, too. Petunia hated early mornings.

Petunia's stare took in the ready-made breakfast, her mum wheezing strangely, her dad's arm around her little sister's shoulder. Petunia narrowed her eyes at Lily. "Some of us are trying to sleep, you know."

The sudden silence in the kitchen was broken by a cat mewling outside.

Andrew could tell that Lily was about to retort to Petunia bitterly. "Good morning, Petunia-petal," he sang, overly cheerful.

Petunia turned to her father. "Good morning, Daddy," she responded sweetly. Lily's scowl deepened. If Lily had called Petunia by her childhood nickname, Petunia would have something nasty to say back to her.

Judy Evans appeared to have recovered, as she too was watching the silent exchange between her two daughters. "Let's eat before breakfast gets cold, shall we?" she said happily, breaking the awkward silence filling the room. "We don't want Lily's efforts to go to nothing," she turned to gaze fondly at her youngest daughter.

As the adults moved to sit down, Petunia took a step toward the food, regarding it disdainfully. "Wait," she said. Andrew and Judy looked up, clearly confused. _"Lily _made breakfast?"

Judy frowned. "Yes petal," she replied warily. "It has been done in the past."

Lily shot a smile at her mother, grateful. She had yet to sit down. She was watching Petunia carefully, not sure what her sister would say next. _Go on, Petunia-petal, _Lily thought vindictively, _egg me on. Merlin knows I'm fed up with your sly comments._

Petunia scowled, lifting her nose aristocratically, but to Lily it made her look even more like a stuck-up snob. "So how do we know if she hasn't messed it all up with her hocus-pocus rubbish?"

Lily saw red. _That's it, _she thought. "Reckon I've gone and added poison, Petunia dear? I'm sure that's what you'd love to add to my breakfast portion."

"Girls, really," Mum began quietly, but Petunia cut her off. "That's barbaric, Lily, though probably not beneath _your _freak standards." she bit back nastily.

_"My _freak standards?" Lily raised her trembling voice. "What _I _consider barbaric is that my own sister hates me for who I am!" Her voice had risen to near a yell. Petunia was staring at her with wide eyes, not used to this new, angry Lily, who had always been so quiet and calm. "You could at least _pretend _to be nice, Petunia! I've never done _anything _to hurt you! _Now _who has 'freak standards'?"

This time the silence was absolute. Both parent's mouths were hanging open in shock. Lily was breathing rather heavily, gazing at Petunia, whose eyes were flashing from her sister to her parents. "What have I done to deserve the way you treat me, Tuney?" Lily's voice was hoarse.

It seemed as if Petunia couldn't think of anything to say. After more silence, she turned and walked out of the quiet room, stating in a detached voice: "I'm not hungry."

"Petunia," her father had awoken from his stupor and strode out of the room in Petunia's wake. Mum turned her dumbfounded gaze to Lily. _Not now, _Lily thought. Before her mother could open her mouth, Lily too had strode from the kitchen and up the stairs, three at a time, though not flying like earlier. She shoved her door open viciously before slamming it, crumpling onto the floor in the same spot that, just a few hours ago, she had happily received her now-forgotten Prefect badge. She lay down, hair splaying out around her, trying to block out the urgent whispers coming from the direction of Petunia's room. She turned her head to face under her bed, her vision shifting to something that winked at her, catching her eye.

Lily reached out, grasping soft material between her fingers. She tugged, and out came a toy, it's button eyes almost winking at her as they caught the morning sun streaming through her window. As she turned it over in her hands, she recognised the soft honey colour, the marmalade mane. It was Romony, her toy lion her parents had given to her when she was too young to properly remember. Lily had a love for antique teddy bears, and had received one for every birthday, making up a large colony, but Romony has always been her favourite. Her parents had given him to her way before she had discovered she was destined to be a witch, to be Sorted into the house of Godric Gryffindor, so it was ironic indeed that her first teddy happened to be a lion.

Lily pulled Romony close to her, planting a soft kiss on his mane as he continued to smiled unknowingly. She sighed with resignation, hugging him tightly.

"So much for a family breakfast," she muttered.

* * *

_A/N: Hello everyone! What do you think of Lily's faltering relationship with her sister, and her family life? Do tell! Hope you all enjoyed my first chapter. Happy fanficcing!_


	2. 2) I Solemnly Swear

_Chapter Two_

_I Solemnly Swear_

Sirius Black was splayed on the floor of his bedroom. _With an aching buttocks, _he thought, grinding his teeth in frustration.

He had awoken abruptly that morning, basking excitedly in the light streaming through his ornate window. Today was possibly the happiest day of his life! So far. He sat up too fast in his eagerness, banging his head hard against his dark headboard. _"Sod it," _he growled vindictively, punching his headboard with more strength than was needed. The furniture creaked ominously, as if moaning back at him. _"Will you be quiet down there?" _shrieked one of his mother's many paintings from the hallway. Sirius huffed, pulling a rude hand gesture in the hall's direction that was thankfully unseen. "Gits, the lot of them," he muttered. He shook his head forcefully, causing his dark hair to fall into his grey eyes, which widened suddenly in realisation. "No matter," he spoke to himself gleefully, not bothering to keep his low voice down. "I'll be rid of them all soon enough!"

In a flash he was standing up on his bed with a loud bounce, causing the old bedsprings to groan. _Why does everything in this house have to be sodding ancient? _he thought bitterly. _Mother's taste, of course. _He shuddered to imagine having to endure another day with the creatures who called themselves his 'family', before quickly remembering that he didn't have to, not today. Today was different, thank Merlin.

He leapt onto the higher wooden edge of his too-large bed with grace, as if it were a move he had practised often. Keeping perfect balance, he eagerly scanned his shadowed room for what he was looking for. Letting out a cry of triumph, he spotted his motorcycle calendar, hanging high up in a far corner above the mini magical trampoline Pettigrew had given him for his last birthday. He scoffed as he remembered receiving the strange gift…

Sirius ripped open his last present with ardent hunger as James laughed loudly. "You'd think it was attacking him back," he joked, as Remus chuckled and Peter rolled to the floor in hysterics, clutching his chubby tummy.

"Shut it Pettigrew, or you'll be next." Sirius warned out of the corner of his mouth, still absorbed in the demolition of his present's wrapping. Peter stopped his rolling almost immediately, as if it were rehearsed, eyes wide as he looked nervously at Sirius. "Sorry Sirius," he squeaked, as Sirius barked a laugh, glancing at Peter and seeing that he looked like a mouse being cornered by a vicious cat. _No,_ though Sirius, _a rat being cornered by a lion._ He grinned at his own cleverness. Much more appropriate.

"I wouldn't goad Pettigrew, Sirius," James started, hazel eyes twinkling. "That is his gift you're attempting to disembowel, after all."

Sirius snorted loudly. "Right, like that's going to scare me."

James shrugged, pretending to look unsure. "Oh, I don't know," he continued thoughtfully. "He could just as easily decide that you're not worth his gift, if you treat him like that."

Sirius's head snapped up to see James grinning wickedly. "Don't ruin my birthday, Potter," he threatened. "Or you'll end up just like Pettigrew's little gift wrappings."

This time it was James who snorted. "Now that I seriously doubt."

When Remus looked up from the book he was reading, it was to see Sirius drop Peter's present with a thud and lunge for James whilst growling, knocking the smaller boy over. "Oi!" James yelled, throwing wild punches as his mad best friend tried to land punches on all parts of James's body.

Peter watching the growing fight, mesmerised, clearly torn between awe and frantic worry. Remus dropped the book he had been perusing and tried to tear Sirius off of the yelling James, with no immediate affect; Sirius was much bigger and stronger than him. James's voice became muffled as the beast continued to attack him. Remus stayed remarkably calm throughout, shaking his head in resignation, as if this were merely to be expected. _Typical,_ he thought. With a practised hand he took out his wand and flicked it at Sirius, who was levitated off of a rather rumpled James and suspended in the air, as if held from the ankle by an invisible rope.

"Put. Me. Down, Lupin!" Sirius managed to get out as he struggled with inhuman energy, blood rushing to his angry face. James quickly got to his feet, smoothing his pyjamas and righting his skew glasses before characteristically running a hand through his messy hair. "Nah, let it be, Remus," he chided, walking to stand next to his companion and crossing his arms, considering the creature Remus had caught before him. "I think I prefer it this way."

Sirius let out a deranged howl, resuming his angry fit of trying to attack James, although his attempt was now somewhat more humorous because he was upside down.

Remus chuckled again, though he flicked his wand, releasing the dangling, imprisoned and clearly incensed creature. Sirius fell with an unceremonious plonk to the ground, knocking his head in the process. "Brilliant," muttered Remus, quickly walking over to meet a stationary Sirius. "On his birthday, of all days." He shot an exasperated look at James, who shrugged back nonchalantly, picking up one of Sirius's many birthday chocolates and popping it into his mouth.

"Try to let him make it through the day alive, won't you?" Remus sighed irritably, although a small smile was tugging at the end of his lips. James responded with a toothy grin, chocolate sticking to his teeth. Remus shook his head fondly. _What interesting friends I have,_ he thought with a smile.

James had sauntered over to the body splayed out at all odd angles. He whistled through his teeth. "That can't be too comfortable." Peter and Remus laughed, while Sirius emitted a low grunt.

James's eyes widened as he turned dramatically to face his audience. "Behold," he began in a staged whisper, "the beast lives still!"

Sirius's arm twitched threateningly in response. Peter jumped, while Remus clutched his stomach in laughter.

James slowly crept towards Sirius as if he were indeed a dangerous beast about to awake. _That's likely,_ thought Remus with a grin. James whipped out his wand in a swift movement, and stalked around the slumped figure.

"This, gents, is a classic example of pure-blood inbreeding, passed down with each generation."

Remus's stomach was beginning to hurt from laughing. James gave the dormant beast a prod with the end of his wand, and received back what sounded suspiciously like a bark.

"You see, my friends," James continued his monologue in a sad, knowing voice, "All high-up pure-bloods simply refuse to marry and, ahem, _reproduce_ with anyone they aren't somehow distantly related to! They consider it, what's the word?" He paused for effect, while Peter let rip a peal of high-pitched giggles. "Positively _barbaric!"_ James whimpered in a high-pitched imitation of a posh old lady, hand fluttering dramatically to his forehead. "One might just faint at the very thought!"

Peter and Remus howled with laughter, clutching eachother as their bodies shook. James had stopped his pacing and clutched his chest, looking genuinely upset. "Of course, that's the reason they need all of those little family get-togethers nearly every weekend, isn't it? _Introduce_ the cousins, I daresay?" He waggled his eyebrows suggestively as more laughter rang through the dorm. "Match-making is the pleasurable _hobby_ of old, rich, stuck-up hags. 'Oh Demetrius, you simply must meet dear Claudia! Your faces are so _similar,_ you'd make _wonderful_ babies!'"

For a split second Remus thought that perhaps this time, James had gone too far. He glanced at the figure that was Sirius, only to hear a bark of a laugh as the creature rolled onto his back with difficulty, grinning up at James with amusement. "You do make a few fair points there, Potter," he began in an offhand voice. "But at least I have looks."

Sirius winked charmingly at a gaping James. This time it was the bespectacled boy who lunged for Sirius, but Remus was ready, wand in hand. He swiftly cast a shield between the two, protecting a laughing Sirius as he watched James's attempted struggles. Remus chuckled. It was all in good fun, but he didn't want things to go too far, which had been known to happen on countless occasions.

James huffed in agitation, but stopped struggling promptly, realising he was embarrassing himself as Sirius chortled with laughter. He held his head high, for it did not do for James Potter to be the source of embarrassment. "And this, lads, is what you could call, a servere case of Inflated Headedness." he stated triumphantly, as if he had just solved a major problem.

Sirius faked concern as he looked around the dorm in confusion. "Funny, Potter, I don't recall seeing anything remotely inflated around here, lest of all, my head," he paused, raising a slender finger to his chin thoughtfully. "Except maybe Pettigrew's belly."

Peter reddened, but James laughed. "Oh, I don't think that's the _only_ inflated thing," he sang knowingly. Sirius shook his head, muttering "Nutter, that one," before promptly growing bored with the whole situation and resuming his wrapping-tearing. "In the name of Merlin's sagging undies, Pettigrew, why so much sodding wrapping?" he huffed, frowning in concentration, his tongue sticking out of the corner of his mouth.

Sirius once again distracted, James slid out his wand, winking at Remus, who grinned eagerly. James muttered an incantation as Sirius huffed and puffed, and when Remus blinked, Sirius's head had inflated to twice its size.

There was a holy moment of silence as Sirius froze, hands rising slowly to feel his head, James, Remus and Peter struggling to keep quiet as their combined laughter threatened to overpower them.

Sirius stood up, ambling over to the bathroom mirror and out of the boys' sight, still clutching his slightly wobbling head fretfully. No sound, then a high-pitched shriek, followed by a multiple amount of similar shrieks as James, Peter and Remus howled with laughter. "I reckon your fourteen-year-old growth spurt has forgotten the rest of your body and travelled straight to that head of yours, Black." James managed to choke out.

Sirius slowly trudged back into the room, his head wobbling slightly as if it were an overlarge egg. He regarded his chortling friends with a mutinous glare. "I will get my revenge, boy," he spoke in a deadly low voice, grey eyes gleaming at James as tears ran down the bespectacled boy's face. Sirius attempted once more to lunge for James, which resulted in his head wobbling dangerously as he toppled over, landing with a thump on Peter's bed.

_"Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall,_

_Humpty Dumpty had a great fall,_

_All the King's horses and all the King's men-_

_Couldn't put poor Dumpty together again!"_

Remus pushed a crying, singing James. "How do you know that song?" he asked, a smile playing on his lips. "It's a Muggle nursery rhyme."

James reddened ever so slightly, running a hand through his hair. "I guess you could say that I've become rather interested in Muggle culture."

"Isn't that Sirius's obsession?" Remus winked at a flustered James. What could possibly be making James Potter so uncomfortable? It was usually as if he were born in his own comfort zone.

"More like he's become _rather interested_ in a certain someone," came a muffled murmur from Peter's bed.

James flushed angrily as he turned his head in Sirius's direction. "Look Black, can we drop the matter, please?"

With difficulty, Sirius managed to push himself into something like a sitting position, slumped against the bedpost. "Potter saying _please?" _he leered wickedly. "It must be a _very _special someone indeed."

James's face now somewhat resembled a pumpkin, although Sirius's head was closer in size. "Alright Black. If you shut it right now, I'll deflate that oversized egg-head of yours. Gryffindor's honour." He raised his hand to his flushed head in a proud salute. Peter beamed up at him in adoration, but Sirius just chortled.

"Really think it's going to be _that _simple after all you've done to me on my _birthday, _Pining Potter?" he mocked.

"Pining Potter?" James scowled. "You don't know what the hell you're talking about, Bigheaded Black!"

Sirius was about to open his mouth with an equally nasty retort when Remus cut him off smoothly.

"I have an idea." His olive eyes twinkled like James's so often did in times of mischief. Two curious heads snapped in his direction, one large egg swivelled precariously to face him. "Yeah?" Sirius retorted rather more viciously than he intended, bright eyes flashing towards James.

Remus smirked. "James, you have to tell us what in Merlin's name you're on about," he turned to an owlishly blinking James who looked as if he were about to interrupt rudely. "Only," he continued, and James's mouth promptly shut. "If Sirius consents to _keep _his egg-head _for the rest of the day."_

Remus's cunning speech was greeted with a rather shocked silence. Peter was gazing in new-found awe at Remus, and James's mouth was once again hanging open. It was usually, no, _always _James and Sirius who came up with the gang's devious plans.

Sirius was the first to break the silence. "But it's my _birthday, _Lupin, if you hadn't noticed," he whined. "I can't go around with an egg-head, not today!"

"Wouldn't make much difference," muttered James vindictively, too softly for Sirius to hear. _Which is a good thing, _Remus reflected wisely.

"Well I think it's a s-smashing idea!" Peter squeaked from the shadows. "Don't-don't you think, James?" watery eyes flashing to James's unreadable face nervously.

James's expression remained impassive, before a slow grin crawled across his face. "I suppose it is fair, in all honesty," he pondered, looking at Remus with new eyes. Sirius let out a loud moan of despair. "I don't honestly give a sod about James's non-existent love-life! I refuse to co-operate with this nonsense! It's my _birthday!" _he added pitifully, as if this resolved the whole matter.

"Non-existent? Why you…" James growled, moving towards Sirius swiftly, but this time both Peter and Remus held him back with ease.

"Alright," Remus began again, brain working quickly. "I know how this can be more interesting."

James slumped back against his bedpost, giving Sirius an intimidating death-stare, although Sirius seemed anything but intimidated. "Do share your ideas, Lupin," he huffed, knuckles cracking as he glared at a leering Sirius.

Remus smiled knowingly. "We make it into… a _game."_

Sirius smacked Peter's bed with gusto that made Peter flinch. "I love this kid!" he announced. Sirius was obsessively competitive with any sorts of games, Remus knew. It was almost as if he had forgotten that his head was the size of a saucer. His expression was one of ardent hunger. "How do we play? No, more importantly, how do I _win?"_

James rolled his eyes. "Who said you'd be the one to win, Bighead?"

Sirius scoffed. "Pettigrew agrees with me," he said confidently, eyes narrowing at a rapidly shrinking Peter. "Don't you?" he added threateningly.

James's head snapped towards a cowering Peter. "Oh come _on, _Pettigrew. Surely you're not rooting for _that _cretin?"

Peter looked as if he were about to cry, eyes darting between an irritated James and a rather terrifying Sirius. Remus shook his head.

"That's beside the point, chaps," he sighed, smiling at the constant banter between his two friends. "The point of the game is _mischief."_

All heads turned towards Remus once more, James and Sirius's eyes glimmering wickedly, Peter's eyes shining with what was probably nerves.

"We give eachother dares," Remus pondered, "and whoever can think of the worst dare, _has to do it." _His eyes twinkled with new-found mischief. Sirius and James's faces split into identical wide grins. Peter whimpered softly. "And if the person doesn't, _refuses _to do the dare," Remus continued, eyes meeting Sirius's eager gaze, "they have to be a slave for the person who thought of the dare for the rest of the day."

Sirius clapped his hands together in enthusiasm. _"Well done, oh well done, Miss Evans!" _he cried in a squeaky and accurate impersonation of their Charms teacher, Professor Flitwick, who was constantly praising fellow Gryffindor Lily Evans on her model-student classwork. James's face curiously flushed as Sirius said this, but Remus decided he would worry about that matter later. Thankfully Sirius didn't seem to have noticed.

"Lupin you are an _angel!" _Sirius continued gushing, attempting to walk forward to give Remus a hug, but toppling over in the process as his overlarge-head didn't help with his balance. "Bloody egg-head," he muttered darkly to himself, rubbing his forehead.

"Don't you mean _boiled _egg-head?" James added cheekily as Sirius's grey eyes flashed angrily in his direction.

"Drop it, Potter," he warned.

James looked concerned. "But then surely your head's eggshell would crack, yeah?" He shook his head sadly. "Who knows what effect _that _would have on the inbreeding problem."

Remus chuckled. "I think we should save this game for special occasions. I mean, who knows what would happen to the lot of us if we played it everyday?"

"We'd be dead, that's what," Sirius rolled his eyes into his wide head. "I mean, _look at me!"_

"I can't bear to, Sirius mate, the mere sight is far too hideous." James said with a sigh.

"At least I'll always look a far sight better than you, Potter dear."

Remus continued to plough through his speech before James could further retort. "The game should have an order of turns, though, so that no one gets picked on too often." His eyes jumped to a nervous looking Peter, who smiled back at him gratefully.

"What kind of order, d'you reckon?" piped up James.

Remus looked at Sirius and his large head. "Perhaps it should go… in the order of our birthdays." James grinned in agreement whilst Sirius attempted to shake his head, without much success. "Why is everyone picking on me today?" he groaned.

"Because it's your birthday, obviously," said James simply.

"That's no reason to provoke someone into attacking you, then levitating them by the ankle, making them fall hard on their head before promptly sodding inflating it!" Sirius barked back. "When it was Pettigrew's birthday I didn't even _touch_ him! Not that I'd want to," he added as an afterthought.

Remus sighed. "The game needs a name."

"The Daring Game?" Peter began eagerly, eyes flashing to James for approval.

Sirius scoffed rudely. "Honestly Pettigrew, is that really the best you can do? Hopeless git." he muttered fondly.

"How about James Always Wins?"

"Nope, won't work, you see. I personally think James Never Wins is far more suitable."

"Maybe it should just be Bigheaded Buffoon Falls Flat On His Bum," James retorted viciously.

"That's not the best you've come up with, mate," Remus shook his head in disappointment at James while Sirius barked in happiness.

Thoughtful silence for a few seconds, until a timid voice from the shadows said: "Are-are you going to open my present, Sirius?"

Sirius's eyes brightened at the suggestion. "That might just be the most useful thing you've ever said, Pettigrew," he said gleefully. Remus chuckled. Sirius was distracted so easily, he could even forget his own birthday.

"We'll figure out a name later," he mumbled, dragging himself over to Peter's severed wrapping. He managed to tear the last few pieces away before looking down at the present in clear confusion. "And what in the name of Merlin's saggy bum is this?"

"How does he know Merlin's bum is saggy, I wonder?" James muttered darkly, though no one answered his rhetorical question. Peter edged out of the shadows nervously, tiptoeing around Sirius as if he feared the boy would attack him too. "It's a m-magical trampoline."

Sirius was silent, eyebrow elegantly arched, before he burst into laughter, automatically causing Peter to flinch. "And why, in the name of Merlin's overgrown nostril hairs, would I be needing something like _that?"_ he chortled manically.

"You really have a sort of thing for this Merlin chap, don't you?" James mused, smiling cheekily. Sirius ignored him as he clutched his stomach, rolling on the floor howling as if he were part of an exorcism. Remus shuddered at the thought. The inflated head didn't help ease the disturbing image.

"Magical… trampoline…" he managed to choke out, feet flailing and narrowly missing hitting Peter's knee. Peter reddened, which resulted in his head resembling a ripe tomato. "Was just an idea," he mumbled, clearly embarrassed.

"Well don't you think we ought to try it out?" James pondered, looking at the contraption with polite interest. Before Remus could stop him, James had shoved the boy onto the trampoline, singing "fly high, Lupin!"

And that Remus did. As soon as his feet touched the trampoline, he soared, literally, above the startled heads of his friends, nearly crashing into the ceiling, before rocketing down again.

"Core blimey!" James marvelled in wonder, eyes wide with excitement behind his rectangular glasses. Remus repeated the process of flying high and crashing down - how was he supposed to stop, when he landed back on the trampoline every time?

Sirius had controlled himself and was sitting up ramrod straight, his large head bobbing up and down in time to Remus's flight. Peter's eyes kept flashing from the flying Remus to the gawking James, seeking approval.

"I want to try!" James cried, before hurtling forward and knocking the soaring Remus out of the trampoline's way and flying himself. James tried a different flip every time, and it seemed as if he were a true natural at this trampolining business, like nearly everything else he did. Peter was watching James in fanatic glee, eyes crinkled.

"Shove off Potter, it's my present after all," Sirius had managed to stand up and pushed James with force out of the trampoline's vicinity.

"Oi!" James yelled, rubbing his head from his new slumped position against Remus's bedpost. "Wasn't it you who was just chortling about how you thought it was a stupid gift? Maybe I should've gotten you a Remembrall as a present." His grin was lopsided as he watched Sirius soar with grace into the air.

"I can fly!" Sirius shouted gleefully, spinning elegantly above their watching heads. James chuckled fondly. "Hoping to become a ballerina, Black?"

With that, Sirius took a well-aimed leap towards an unsuspecting James, landing him a poised kick in the stomach. James clutched the spot and let out a groan, glaring at a smirking Sirius. "Now we're nearly even, Potter." He held out a hand to his best mate, who reluctantly took it with a grin.

The two boys sauntered towards the trampoline, eyeing it with new-found respect. "Not bad at all, Pettigrew." Sirius praised in a low voice, eyes gleaming as he gazed at his new possession hungrily. "Now I have even more reasons to stay away from my ancestors, hidden in the cold comfort of my dingy bedroom." his smile seemed slightly forced this time as the gleam from his eyes disappeared.

James clapped him on the back in a brotherly fashion. "You still have us, mate. Don't forget it."

Sirius's grin returned as he ruffled James's messy hair with gusto. "Not such a bad bloke after all, James."

Remus smiled at the exchange between his friends. James raised his arm in another stilted salute, thought he too was grinning madly.

"I solemnly swear that I am up to no good," he stated in military fashion.

Remus's smile widened. "That's it!" he cried suddenly.

All boys turned to him in confusion. "Don't tell me you're going loopy, Lupin?" Sirius waggled his eyebrows.

Remus shook his head, chuckling. "Not quite," he winked at Sirius, who barked a laugh. "That's the name of the game!"

Sirius nodded eagerly in agreement, large head wobbling rather dangerously. "Perfect!"

James raised his eyes to the ceiling, a dreamy look appearing across his face. "I know I am." He bowed to his audience as a round of laughing applause greeted him.

"What's next, forcing us to call you 'Your Pottiness'?" Sirius smirked. James bowed in his direction. "Much obliged, Bighead, sir,"

The boys chortled for a few seconds longer. Remus eventually came to his senses first, as usual. "You do realise, Sirius," he breathed, "that as it is your birthday, you have to walk around all day with an egg-head?" Laughter flared up again as Sirius shot Remus a betrayed look. "I solemnly swear…" Remus began, nodding at Sirius cheekily.

"…that I am up to _no bloody good!" _Sirius finished dramatically, yelling the last few words triumphantly. He high-fived a grinning James. "Fine, Lupin, I give in. I solemnly swear that I shall walk around all day with Potter's inflated head." he winked at James, who sputtered, pretending to look offended. "As long as lover-boy here tells us _all _about his sad love-life once I'm through with this!" He thrust his hand out enthusiastically towards James, an expectant expression on his face. "Well?" he challenged, eyes narrowing playfully.

James sighed as if he were carrying the world's burden upon his shoulders, before stepping towards Sirius in resignation.

"If you don't agree, you have to be Sirius's slave for the next day," Remus warned him. "And personally I'd rather spill out all of my secret woes than be his slave. Trust me."

Sirius barked a laugh. _"You _have some secret woes for me, do you, Lupin?" he joked, eyebrow raised suggestively.

Remus shrugged, offhand. "That's for me to know and for you to never find out." he grinned at Sirius.

"I solemnly swear on my old hag's life that I will find out," Sirius pledged without laughter.

"Careful Black," James chirped, "that's quite a few solemn swears you've pronounced today. Don't get ahead of yourself; the game's only just started." he gave Sirius a lopsided smile.

Sirius shook his hair in frustration, causing his head to wobble. "Just shake my sodding hand, will you?"

James shot a playful glare at a laughing Remus, and stepped forward to give Sirius a rather hearty handshake, resulting in Sirius's overlarge head lolling onto his shoulder.

"You look like a puppet," James chortled, letting go of Sirius's hand.

"You _are _a puppet, Potter poppet."

The boys burst out laughing, clutching their sides. They only subsided when Peter's timid voice broke the howling.

"Oughtn't we go down to breakfast?" His stomach growled audibly, causing Sirius and James's continuous laughter. "Some things never change," James gasped, as Sirius chortled in response.

"Oh, come on," Remus sighed in exasperation, though he was smiling at the wheezing boys. He walked over and tugged them up to their feet, Sirius's head bouncing precariously. "We want to make an entrance, don't we, birthday boy?" he winked at Sirius as James shoved the bigheaded creature forward.

"What would we do without our Lupin to keep us in tip-top shape?" James said wistfully, slinging his arm over Remus's shoulders.

"I solemnly swear that I am up to no good." Sirius convinced himself with an evil grin as he sauntered out of the room, leaving the others to scurry off after him, not wanting at all to miss out on the fun…

Sirius shook his head fondly at the memory, chuckling to himself. That had certainly been a birthday to remember.

With practised precision, he swiped a Muggle pen that Remus had given him out from under his many duvet covers and leaped with a swift movement onto his magical trampoline. Thank Merlin the trampoline was noiseless, otherwise his dear mother would have been quick to confiscate it. Sirius scowled. It was one of his few items he treasured that he could actually have fun with in this house. Fun was not acceptable, no. _Simply barbaric, _as James would put it.

He bounced twice before aiming himself in the direction of his motorcycle calendar, also a present from Remus. As he soared through the air towards his destination, he whipped the pen forward, quickly marking a black 'X' on the block stating the 1st of September. Pen falling from hand, Sirius toppled back onto his trampoline which promptly flung him across his room, landing him hard on the stone ground, his buttocks having just missed the moth-eaten carpet.

Sirius rubbed his buttocks vigorously, grinding his teeth in frustration. Suddenly his expression of irritation morphed into one of ethereal happiness, as he leaned back against the wall, letting out a long breath he'd been holding for the whole summer holiday.

A burning buttocks didn't matter, not now. He was going back to Hogwarts today. Finally.

He was going home.

* * *

_A/N: Hello again! Would you have liked a magical-trampoline for your birthday? I know I would, har har. I hope the Marauders' banter made you smile - they solemnly swear that they are up to no good. Please review, thanks!_


	3. 3) Imperfect Prefects

_Chapter Three_

_Imperfect Prefects_

"No, Mum. You don't have to come with me through the barrier. Honest."

Judy Evans huffed impatiently, and Lily had a sudden vision that she was the mother and her mum was the excited child.

"But flower, you're a _Prefect! _I want to see my daughter bounding off happily with the other lucky Prefects boarding the train!" her mum whined yet again.

Although Lily was overcome by a strong urge to roll her eyes, she politely refrained from doing so, instead plastering a reassuring smile across her face professionally. "Mum, I know you're excited that I'm a Prefect and all, but it's _really _not that much of a big deal." she enthused, waiting for her mother to calm herself. "There are many others, it's not like it's hard to become one or anything." She winced inwardly at the little white lie she was weaving, but how else could she stop her gleeful mother from bounding home and practically screeching the news in dear Petunia's face? Judy's joyous expression faltered a little.

"Flower, at _my _school, there were only about eight Prefects in the entire year!" Lily sighed softly as she realised that the same rules applied to her year, though she wisely kept her mouth shut. "Neither your father or I ever had the privilege of becoming one, nor did Petunia. What's there not to be proud of?" Her mum ended quietly, eyes searching her daughter's sad ones in confusion.

Lily flinched slightly at the mention of her sister, tearing her eyes away from her mother's, which were exact replicas of Petunia's round, pale-blue ones. "Really Mum, I ought to be going now," she whispered in resignation, giving her mother a hug that didn't last very long.

Judy finally seemed to notice that Lily was acting out of her usual back-to-school-bliss. She pulled back from the awkward hug, arms on her daughter's shoulders, looking back at the girl whose bright green eyes were always smiling, but not today.

"Lily," she began complacently, watching her daughter's reaction all the while, "I know that things at home have been… different, where your sister is concerned."

Lily watched her mother warily, wondering where she was going with this. "But at the end of the day, flower, we all know that blood runs thicker than water." Her mum concluded rather hurriedly, as if she herself were not entirely convinced by what she had just said. "Petunia's just having a tough time… she'll come around, eventually." Judy smiled indulgently at her youngest daughter, who blinked slowly in response.

"Eventually?" Lily whispered, her voice barely audible above the din of the station. She looked down at her feet, dark red hair falling forward to hide a tear that had accidentally slipped out of her watering eyes. "Tell me, Mum, when was the last time things were the way they used to be?" The longing was clearly etched in her wavering voice.

Judy just smiled sadly and patted her daughter on the shoulder. "There dear, you'd best be going now. It would never do to miss the train, you being a Prefect now and all." She winked jovially as Lily gave her a reluctant smile. "Hop to it, then." She squeezed her daughter's shoulder one last time before letting go.

Taking a deep breath, Lily grasped her trolley firmly and ran towards the familiar brick wall without glancing back. Any onlookers would think the girl mad, presuming she were about to collide with force and possibly break some part of her body. However, Lily knew better, and so did her mum, who still smiled in wonder at the magic the simple brick wall seemed to behold. Judy Evans watched wistfully as her daughter, instead of smashing brutally into the red bricks, seemingly vanished into its depths, out of sight.

Lily slowly opened her eyes, grinning madly at the beautiful sight that met her eyes. It had definitely been too long since she had last been at Hogwarts, let alone riding on the magical Hogwarts Express. Everywhere she looked, children of all ages were hugging their parents goodbye, squealing in delight as they saw their friends, tripping over their school robes in excitement to board the puffing steam-train. Lily looked down at her own Muggle attire. She always preferred to change into her school robes on the Express itself, since she thoroughly enjoyed picking out an outfit for every exciting 1st of September. She chuckled to herself softly. Perhaps she was a girly-girl after all.

"Lily!"

She whipped around, red hair flying, to see a dark head bobbing towards her energetically. "Oh," Lily smiled. "Hi, Hestia."

Hestia Jones had reached her and was grinning happily from ear to ear, dark eyes twinkling. "Good holiday?"

Lily had opened her mouth, unsure of how to respond, when Hestia cut her off almost immediately. "Don't care, I was just attempting politeness. Let's find a compartment." She laughed loudly at her straightforward statement.

"Actually…" Lily began, just to be cut off yet again by a bubbling Hestia.

"Oh, let me guess. You usually sit with that strange Slytherin kid, don't you?" she winked at Lily, who was beginning to feel irritable. What was happening to her? Usually she could take care of Hestia's eagerness quite calmly - they did share a dorm, after all.

"His name is Severus," she snapped, her words coming out a little harsher than she intended as Hestia's glittering eyes widened. "I mean," Lily continued hurriedly, "I suppose he is a little… different." She smiled knowingly at a visibly relaxing Hestia. "But there's nothing wrong with being different, is there?"

"I guess," Hestia said, now sounding uninterested. She shrugged, new energy radiating out of her. "I'll see you back at the castle, then? Have fun with, what's his name, Snivellus or something?"

"Severus," Lily repeated coldly, immediately recognising the cruel nickname James Potter and his crew seemed to have dubbed poor Sev. "And I actually have to be getting to the Prefects compartment…" she mumbled to herself, temporarily forgetting that Hestia was still there. _Why hasn't she left yet?_

Hestia's smiling eyes became larger. _"Prefect?" _she shrieked, as if the term were a foreign concept. "Oh Merlin, of course _you're_ a Prefect, Lily! How couldn't I have guessed? You're practically the top in the year!" Lily gave Hestia a genuine smile for the compliment, which in her opinion was an over-exaggeration. Then again, pretty much everything was an over-exaggeration in the case of excitable Hestia Jones.

_"Top in the year?"_

Lily turned around again to meet the steely glare of Mary MacDonald, hair slimily gelled into a dorky middle-parting, another person she unfortunately had to share a dorm with. She didn't mind bubbly Hestia, who one could easily get along with, but this girl was another matter entirely.

"Hello, Mary." Lily tried to smile politely, though she had the distinct feeling that her smile did not reach her eyes. _Who cares? _she thought rather viciously to herself. It seemed that all of her argumentative encounters with her sister over the holidays had changed her outlook on people who didn't bother to try to be polite.

Mary promptly ignored Lily's introduction, lifting her nose sniffily as if Lily was beneath her. "What makes you think _she's _top in the year?" she challenged, head snapping to face a still-smiling Hestia who seemed oblivious to the unfriendly tone of Mary's voice.

"Well it's pretty obvious, really Mary," Hestia said in a simple tone as if Mary were a toddler. "She's always getting praise from the teachers for her work, she gets the top marks, and Slughorn's practically _in love_ with her!" She laughed loudly again, as if she'd just made a hilarious joke.

What Hestia didn't seem to realise was that Mary's brown eyes had darkened still. She turned back to Lily, a leering smirk crawling onto her face.

"No need to be so full of yourself, Lily," she said nastily. _"I _beat you in Divination, remember?" she snapped, looking awfully proud of herself.

"That's because you're the only one who bothered to study," Lily muttered, as Hestia laughed and Mary pretended she hadn't heard. Mary MacDonald was known throughout the year for being a complete swot when it came to academics.

Hestia was now frowning slightly. "No need to be so harsh, Mary," she chided worriedly. "Lily's a Prefect now!" She gave a squeal that made Mary jump.

Lily was torn between wanting to slap Hestia across the face and wanting to give her a nice fat hug. Instead she simply gave her a smile, which was returned enthusiastically. "You're right, Hestia, I'd best be going to the Prefects compartment. It wouldn't do to be late on the first day." Lily gave Mary a sweet smile, taking in the girl's shocked expression and her flushed pink face. "Always a pleasure speaking to you, Mary." she simpered in a sad voice, looking at the swot as if she was genuinely concerned about the girl's sanity, before promptly lifting her own trunk and boarding the train, smiling to herself in satisfaction.

Lily placed her trunk hurriedly in the luggage racks, hoping that maybe she would have time to quickly find Severus before the Prefects meeting, before she was suddenly jolted forwards, shoulder hitting the wooden rack with a _thump. _Lily winced, rubbing her new sore. It was as if the train had read her mind and had decided to depart right on cue. No time to find Severus, then.

With a twinge she realised that Sev would be sitting on his own for most of the train journey, as she remembered from her previous years that Prefects had to patrol the corridors. She sighed heavily. Was becoming a Prefect really worth it, if she couldn't see her best friend? She was hardly able to see him anyway, the two of them being in different and competitive houses. Nevertheless, they had always managed to remain close. Lily smiled sadly.

"Are you alright?"

Lily looked up slowly to see concerned doe eyes boring into her. Remus Lupin looked a little unsure of himself, as if he half expected Lily to retort with a snide remark that she usually reserved for his two best mates, notorious trouble-makers James Potter and Sirius Black.

Lily, however, visibly relaxed. "Yeah, I'm alright, thanks Remus." She gave him a warm smile, which he gratefully returned. Even though she didn't like the company he kept, she'd always thought that Remus was a kind character. She paused before saying: "Just haven't had the best holiday." She gave a short, bitter laugh.

Remus grinned, clearly relieved that she hadn't started ranting about something James might have done. "Me neither," he admitted quietly, a faraway look overcoming his tired face. Lily's eyes raked over him, noticing that although he had grown taller, he was looking rather worse for the wear; his skin even paler, complete with darker shadows under his eyes. Lily frowned slightly. Remus Lupin had always had that sickly look about him, but now it seemed more pronounced than ever.

"Remus," she started softly, and he jumped slightly, as if she had just drawn him out of his reverie. "Are you ill?"

Remus froze, mouth agape, not knowing what to say. But Lily Evans didn't look harsh or judgemental - she looked as if she was genuinely concerned about his health, her eyes searching his gently.

Lily seemed to notice his hesitation, and covered her mouth, abashed. "I mean, I didn't mean to pry, I just - " she began sputtering.

Remus waved her off tiredly. "It's nothing," he joked airily. "I just spent practically my entire holiday cooped up in my room reading, shunning society, so blame me for not getting enough sleep or sun." He grinned, embarrassed. Lily realised he was telling the truth, and laughed.

"I can sympathise. My sister ignored me the whole time, so I too resorted to the comforts of my room, taking refuge in books." She smiled as Remus chuckled. "Not that I really minded - I love to read." Her green eyes glimmered.

Remus sighed happily. "Finally, I've found someone who actually agrees with me on the reading thing. One can't drop Dungbombs forever." he teased, thinking of his mischievous friends.

"Oh, I'm sure both Potter and Black could." Lily rolled her eyes as Remus snickered. "They've probably never read a book in their lives, out of choice."

"You'd actually be surprised," Remus mused, watching Lily's jovial expression. He was both startled and pleased that he had managed to pull someone out of a bad mood, lest of all Lily. He grinned as he pictured the look on James's face when he imagined telling his friend that he had made Lily Evans laugh.

The train whistle went off, piercing the surrounding air as both students jumped. "Oh Merlin, I'm late," Remus muttered to himself, glancing around frantically for a clock on the walls.

Lily gasped excitedly. "Oh, _please _tell me you're a Prefect, too?" she breathed as Remus nodded, a smile spreading across his face.

"Well we'd best be going then, Miss Evans," he stated poshly, brushing past her before stopping and turning around. "After you, Madam?" he gestured forward, grinning cheekily in a way that reminded Lily frighteningly of James Potter. She shook her head, calmly clearing her thoughts of such horrendous persons, and skipped in front of Remus, feeling elated for the first time in a while.

The two new Prefects hurriedly rushed down the corridor in search of their destination, passing a compartment of rowdy boys on their way. Lily glanced to her left, and, once seeing both James and Sirius pushed up against the glass, tongues lolling languidly while pulling rather demented faces, she stiffly turned away, nose in the air. Remus winked at his mad mates as he walked past behind Lily. James's mouth dropped open, an unfortunate amount of saliva escaping in the process and landing in Sirius's hair as he watched Remus stroll off with wide eyes.

Even Lily could hear the inhuman shriek that echoed throughout the train, suspiciously sounded something like _"My hair, Potter!"_

Remus chuckled fondly to himself, as if this sort of behaviour was something he had to put up with on an everyday basis. _Poor guy probably does, _Lily thought sadly.

The two were just about to lose hope of ever finding the Prefects carriage, when Remus practically collided with another rushing figure at an intersection.

"Excuse me, please watch where you're - " the voice began irritably, when the figure looked up and caught sight of Remus's shining Prefect badge, the only attire he was wearing that looked remotely new. "Oh, so _you're _one of our new Prefects!" The seventh year cried with relief, abruptly seizing hold of a startled Remus's robes. "We've been looking for you two _everywhere! _Well, come on!" And with that he dragged Remus along behind him, muttering to himself madly.

"Sir, are you the - " Lily began politely, only to be cut off by the older student, who was clearly in a bit of a tizz.

"Must be off, really, two new Prefects late on their first day, Merlin knows what Talia is going to say…"

"Talia…?" Lily's forehead crinkled in confusion, only for her to be hurtled unceremoniously by the seventh year into a plush compartment filled with people.

A little flustered, Lily smoothed the folds of her dress back down, realising with a blush that it had hiked up a few centimetres. Most of the students had averted their eyes politely, though two people snickered rather unkindly. _Slytherins, _Lily thought with a scowl, before quickly clearing her head of such a prejudice. _That's some nasty conclusion James Potter would undoubtedly jump to, _she shuddered, _and I will _not _let my standards sink _that _low!_

She smoothly plastered a smile across her face, eyes scanning the room for the person of authority, who seemed to be a tall, elegant girl, auburn hair tied back in a french plait.

"I'm so sorry that we're late for your meeting," she began courteously, meeting the other girl's eyes without a falter. "Remus had to help me with my trunk." she gestured to a silent Remus who seemed shocked to find himself trapped in a room full of hawkishly staring people. Remus blinked before quickly composing himself, smiling with charm.

"Remus Lupin at your service, ma'am," he said quietly, addressing the tall figure. Lily almost thought that the same two students were about to start snickering again, but the elegant girl's piercing eyes seemed to soften as she considered an earnest Remus. She nodded her head curtly, a silent order with which Lily grabbed Remus's robes and pulled him down next to her on the last available seat, looking up at the seventh year in attentive interest.

The girl paced back and forth through the roomy compartment regally, introducing herself as Talia Middleton, Head Girl, before briefly gesturing to the other seventh year as Edward Poynter, Head Boy. Edward inclined his head politely as she mentioned his name, but continued to let her do most of the talking. It was immediately clear to everyone that Talia Middleton was a posh, upright figure who did not tolerate nonsense, and that it was she, ultimately, who was in charge. The Head Girl reminded Lily fleetingly of Professor McGonagall; no one dared to utter a whisper nor so much as fidget during her lengthly speech. _Mary would've loved this, _Lily thought ironically, as she feigned interest in Talia's increasingly long list of school rules, most of which she didn't even know existed.

"To conclude, Prefects," Talia was now saying, and Lily let a little sigh of relief escape her as she realised the Head Girl's speech was finally ending after what seemed like two hours, but was probably only ten minutes. "For now all you have to do is patrol the train corridors, simply keeping the rules in check, making sure that no overexcited student finds themselves creating mischief that is uncalled for." Lily suppressed a snort. _Any mischief in Talia Middleton's eyes is probably uncalled for, _she figured.

Talia's clear eyes seemed to linger on Remus, and Lily had the distinct impression that the Head Girl was well aware of his place in James Potter's little gang of trouble-makers. Remus very much looked as if he wanted to squirm under her gaze, but managed to hold his own, merely appearing a little uncomfortable.

Although it was clear that Talia had finished talking, her eyes swept across the room imperiously, even causing the Head Boy to wither slightly. Everyone was stiffly silent, patiently waiting for the supreme ruler's order to be dismissed. A small, satisfied smile crept across Talia's lips as she watched her prey possessively. Lily couldn't decide whether she liked the Head Girl or not. The tall queen was certainly unnerving. Finally, Talia announced their freedom, much to everyone's relief.

The students all clambered to their feet quickly, practically scrambling for the only exit.

"Well that was something," Remus mumbled to Lily as the crowd of Prefects rapidly dispersed.

Lily laughed. "Maybe she'll have us making her bed next," she joked.

"Wouldn't put it past her," Remus said darkly, causing Lily to further giggle. She felt a tall someone brush past her and glanced up, her cheeky expression dropping. Edward Poynter was looking back down at her and Remus, who had both stopped talking simultaneously. _First we're embarrassingly late, now this, _Lily grimaced. _Maybe there's such a thing as de-Prefecting?_

She almost laughed aloud as she abruptly realised that she didn't really care.

The Head Boy frowned slightly as he considered them, before shiftily looking over his shoulder, finding the corridor miraculously clear. He turned back to the two stunned Prefects before winking at them as if he'd been in on their joke. Lily and Remus stared back at him like suspended guppies out of the water, not knowing what to think. "Just make sure you're alone if you want to say something like that. You never know where she might be lurking." Poynter chuckled to himself before taking off, leaving the students to gaze after him incredulously.

"What a strange combination of Head Boy and Girl we seem to have this year," Remus mused, his gawking expression replaced with one of baffled amusement.

"You never know," Lily pondered thoughtfully. "They just might end up together." She smirked at a rather startled Remus. "Opposites do tend to attract." she recited wisely, remembering what her mother often said concerning marrying Lily's dad.

Remus shrugged, clearly not the guru on relationships. "Guess we'll have to wait and see." He grinned, before his expression faltered slightly. "If we make it to the end of the year, that is…"

Lily peered at him curiously as they patrolled the corridors in a robotic fashion. The meaning of his strange statement suddenly dawned upon her. _"OWLS!" _she squeaked, startling a jumpy first year who was hurriedly making his way to the bathroom. "Sorry, I didn't mean - " Lily began in the direction of the young boy, but he only glared at her before nearly tripping over himself in his haste to reach his destination.

"Goodness," Lily huffed, frowning after the first year. "I'm certain I wasn't _that_ impolite in first year!"

"Maybe he has a bladder problem or something," Remus murmured almost to himself. Lily crossed her arms, irritated. She hadn't thought of that.

"Not only OWLS," Remus continued, looking a little worried that Lily might lose her temper. _Has been known to happen, _she thought, remembering with a shudder her last speech encounter with James Potter. "Sharing a dorm with both James and Sirius can tend to be extremely re- "

"Repulsive?"

"I was actually going to say refreshing, but I suppose that word could work, too." Remus chuckled, doe eyes boring into Lily's as his light-brown hair fell forward. His expression had suddenly turned serious. "What is it that you hate so much about James, Lily?" he asked softly.

_Hate is a strong word, _Lily was about to say defensively, when she realised that she _did _rather detest that James Potter. Anger flared up inside her as she grit her teeth. "You're really asking me this, Remus? Me, best friends with Sev, who Potter seems to have chosen as an object for his cruel sense of entertainment?" She laughed bitterly at the look on Remus's face, which plainly said _just what I expected. _"I thought you were the smart one, Remus," she teased, her anger evaporating as quickly as it had come. How could one ever get angry with Remus Lupin? His face practically _cried _innocence.

"James and Sirius are both smarter than me," Remus stated modestly, "the only difference being that they can never be bothered to study." His eyes glittered mischievously.

"Back to my point on those two never reading by choice." Lily pointed out, giving the boy a sly grin.

Remus waved a hand dismissively. "They only spend their efforts on things that interest them. Human nature." For some reason he winced slightly at his last statement.

"And you're quite sure Black and Potter count as human?"

"Not entirely, to be honest."

"There have to be tell-tale signs, I mean, you've shared a dorm since first grade." Lily pried, curiosity overtaking her disgust in the creatures. _What _did _Black and Potter do with all of their time? Probably hex other innocents, _she answered her own question with ease, wrinkling her nose.

"Is Lily Evans actually asking me intricate questions about the lives of the two males she most hates?" Remus chuckled with wonder as Lily promptly flushed. "I don't think anyone will ever be able to figure you out," he grinned playfully, tongue between his teeth.

"And that's a good thing." Lily concluded before performing a plausible impersonation of Talia Middleton, gliding off with aristocratic poise, nose turned snootily upwards. Remus's laughter followed her down the corridor.

While systematically patrolling corridors, Lily and Remus chatted animatedly about school and the oncoming doom of their OWLS exams. Lily discovered a lot about the usually quiet Remus Lupin, for instance the fact that he, like her, was quite an academic and didn't mind spending hours in the library, sometimes for fun, something James and Sirius seemed to think was 'definitely alien'. "Which just proves that they are further different from us humans," Lily announced smugly.

"Not that different to me," Remus winked as Lily laughed.

"Yes they are! You're a _nice _person!"

Remus chuckled softly. "I wouldn't expect someone who so fervently hates them to understand." he responded with cheek.

"You're right, I don't understand at all and I don't think I shall ever try to." Lily stuck her tongue out at Remus.

"And to think, I had you labelled as open-minded," he joked.

"Labelling people certainly isn't open-minded, Lupin. Besides, no one will ever be able to read _my _mind." She laughed, the sound echoing across the walls musically.

"I'm sure I know someone who'd like to," Remus muttered, thinking of James.

Lily whipped around to face Remus, long hair close to hitting him in the face. "What do you - "

As she turned into the next corridor she nearly tripped over something. _Or someone. _Remus reached out to steady her, before dropping his grip on her arm as if he'd been burned. Lily couldn't think why, but that matter was quickly pushed to the back of her mind as she realised she had indeed stood on a splayed body.

The figure's face was turned away from her, probably in embarrassment. Lily frowned as she took in the person's black hair and dishevelled robes. "Excuse me? Are you quite alright? Remus, help me here - " She turned to her companion to see him staring ahead, fixated.

"Nice dress, Evans."

James Potter sauntered towards the two Prefects, although he had eyes only for Lily. His dark hair was irritatingly messier than usual, and he wore a lopsided smirk on his face that Lily wanted to wipe off with a gritty eraser. _Of all the bloody people… _Anger flared up inside her like a candle struck with a match. James seemed to register the rage in her expression, for he raised his hands playfully. "Don't make the redhead stereotype come to life, Evans. Though I must admit," he stopped just short of her and the crumpled figure, "anger makes you even more attractive."

A bark of laughter sounded through the corridor as a deep voice said: "Don't get ahead of yourself, Potter. You might scare her off." Lily's eyes narrowed further as the tall figure of Sirius Black strolled languidly towards James, stopping just behind his friend and lounging with grace against a compartment door. Sirius's deep-set grey eyes glittered as he took in the sight of Lily. "I have to agree with James on the dress," he waggled his arched eyebrows. Lily felt disgusted. James, however, spun around and glared at Sirius.

"Easy on the eyes there, Black." he warned. Lily thought the whole thing was bizarre. Weren't they supposed to be in on this together? Whatever _this _was.

She raised herself to her full height, though she was still noticeably smaller than the towering pranksters. Sirius snickered. Lily ignored him, turning her burning gaze to an amused James.

"You'd better explain yourself, Potter, or we'll put you in detention." She gestured at herself and Remus, who was still frozen, round eyes communicating silently with a short, podgy figure lurking behind Sirius that Lily hadn't noticed until now.

Sirius let out another harsh bark of laughter. "Remus, put _us _in detention? Got your knickers in a twist, Evans?"

James elbowed Sirius rather roughly, turning back to face Lily. "Besides," he continued cooly, as if there weren't a person slumped on the floor at their feet, "this one is a gift for _you, _Evans. Well, more like an _improvement." _He smirked knowingly as a nervous high-pitched giggle coming from the back broke the silence. Sirius rolled his eyes, looking rather bored.

"Potter, you are _such _a drama-queen."

"Says the one who was shrieking about his hair for half an hour," James retorted.

Lily ignored their increasingly strange conversation. "A _gift _for me, Potter?" she pointed at the figure in frustration, who groaned. Lily immediately dropped to her knees and pulled the body over to face her. Recognition flickered across her face, which had gone rather white. _"Sev!" _she cried.

The boy didn't really look like Severus though. In the place where his distinguishable nose usually was, sat a squat, piggish snout. Severus groaned again, as if he could sense Lily's close presence. _"What have you done to him?"_

Lily's voice came out in a low predatory growl. Remus flinched beside her, never having heard her use that voice before. _She must be really mad, _he thought hopelessly. _What does James think he's playing at?_

"Well, Sirius Stunned him at the same time that I decided he needed a nose-job," James shrugged as if the whole idea would be obvious to anyone. Lily had stood up and was clearly seething.

"And _why, _pray tell, would you _do that?!" _Her teeth were practically bared.

Sirius thrust himself forward viciously. "Snivellus decided he would have a little dig at my family," he spat. "He deserved what he got."

Lily placed her hands on her hips to prevent herself from firing numerous jinxes. "Sev would _never _insult anyone's family!" she yelled, thinking of how her friend had family issues of his own which were much worse than hers.

"Well then you clearly don't know _Sev _as well as you think you do." Sirius snapped, eyes burning as he glared at Severus's stationary body with pure loathing. "Slimy git," he added, mouth curving downwards in anger.

"But surely you do admit that it's a major physical improvement, Evans?" James's eyes danced with mischief. "I mean, he does look more like a pig to be honest, but it's a far sight better than how he usually - "

He shut up abruptly as Lily shoved her wand hard into his chest. "One more word, Potter," she breathed in a dragon-like fashion, "and I promise you will regret your unfortunate birth."

"Oi!" Sirius too had whipped out his wand and was pointing it at Lily in a mad rage. Peter Pettigrew was just visible, cowering behind Sirius's tall figure, watery eyes flashing nervously between each individual. _Coward, _Lily thought viciously, jabbing her wand into James with force as he winced.

"Easy on the abs, Evans." he managed to choke. Lily rolled her eyes. Even at times like this, Potter could still miraculously manage to sound conceited.

"Could everyone just please calm down?"

Four heads whipped in Remus's direction, for it was the first time he had spoken. Remus looked rather nervous, yet determined. Lily admired him in that moment for trying to take control of the seemingly out-of-hand situation.

"Not sure if that's possible for Little Miss Redhead here," Sirius purred, cocking his head to one side as he considered the incensed Lily.

Lily, however, lowered her wand slightly. _She _was supposed to be the person of authority right now, yet here she was, sticking her wand into Potter's chest with strength she wasn't aware of, forcing poor Remus to take care of everything on his own! _And they're his _friends, she realised, reluctantly letting go of Potter altogether. _No wonder it took him so long to speak up!_

"Nicely done, Evans," Sirius praised her as if she were some sort of rabid animal. Lily scowled, though she reddened as she vividly recalled baring her teeth and growling. _Some Prefect you are, _she silently scolded herself for letting anger get the better of her, which seemed to happen quite easily these days. She straightened up, attempting to look dignified, but wisely kept her wand in clear view. Now that she had released her hold on him, James's signature smirk was back on his face. _Although, _she noted with pleasure, _he does look distinctly paler._

James saw Lily smile and his grin widened. "Do I amuse you, Evans?"

Lily's smile dropped immediately, her face deadpan. "No Potter, you embarrass yourself."

James flushed; Lily felt a little smug. She turned to face Remus, who was attempting to engage Sirius in a silent conversation, though Sirius copiously ignored his friend, examining his hands with sudden interest.

"Well," Lily started softly, eyes travelling over every person. Peter averted her gaze. "I think this… incident shall have to be reported to the Head Boy or Girl."

James groaned loudly. "Oh be realistic Potter," Sirius chided, "everyone knows that Evans is a goody-two-shoes."

"How else do you think I became a Prefect?" Lily challenged, eyebrow arched. She honestly didn't care in the least what Sirius Black thought of her. "Someone has to keep you wild animals in check."

"Ironic really, seeing as it was you who was baring your teeth like some sort of deranged chimpanzee." Sirius replied smoothly, grinning.

_Keep your head, keep your head, _Lily resorted to chanting to herself. She would _not _give Black the satisfaction of diving off her rocker again. He smirked annoyingly, as if he knew exactly what she was thinking.

"Come now, Evans," James started complacently, stepping towards her again. This time Lily was ready, as she thrust her wand at him and muttered: "Back off, Potter." in a rather threatening manner. James froze, wisely. "I'm sure we can figure something out so that no one gets hurt," he tried, grinning helplessly.

"No one gets hurt?" Lily replied incredulously, feeling her hot temper rise. She gestured towards Severus, still slumped on the floor. "Then what exactly do you define _this _as? Honestly!" she cried in frustration.

Remus spoke so softly that Lily wasn't quite sure that it was him. "Just change his nose back, James," he sounded awfully tired. "Then we'll let you get off."

Lily gasped. "Remus! You can't possibly - " but Remus silenced her with a pleading, puppy-dog look.

James, however, laughed. "I'm not taking orders from you, Remus! You're my mate, not bloody McGonagall!"

Remus just looked at him. "Would you really prefer detention to righting Severus's nose?"

"It's _Severus _now to you, is it?" Sirius scoffed. "She's had a bad influence on you, I reckon." He jerked his head towards Lily, who crossed her arms in agitation. "Why are you threatening your mates with detention, Remus? Are you actually choosing Snivelly over us?" he was attempting to sound offhand, but even Lily could hear the hurt in his voice.

Remus stiffened. "Please, Sirius,"

Sirius was silent, staring at Remus in a detached way. James walked forward slowly and pulled out his wand, considering Severus. "It's a real pity you don't believe us, Evans," he paused. "Sometimes I'm not sure you know what kind of a person you're really dealing with." Lily narrowed her eyes at him, thinking of his prejudice against the vast majority of Slytherins. James reluctantly pointed his wand at Severus's face, muttering an incantation, and before their eyes, the boy's snout morphed back into his original, rather large nose. "Still looked better before," James mumbled, but wisely let it drop at that.

Lily pointed her wand at Severus, carefully levitating him into the air so that he looked like a giant, dead bat. Giving James and Sirius the nastiest look she could muster, Lily turned on her heel, Severus flying in front of her, and marched down the corridor, still managing to look like a regal Talia Middleton, although Remus didn't think she was doing it intentionally this time. He slowly turned to face his friends, scared. James was muttering to himself about lost opportunities; Peter was lurking near their compartment door, ready to bolt if necessary.

Remus nervously met eyes with Sirius, who was still staring at him as if he'd never seen him before. His friend's grey eyes looked dull.

"I'm sorry," Remus mumbled, sincere.

Sirius eventually broke away from the stare, looking down at the floor. He shrugged, suddenly uncaring. "You are a Prefect now, I guess."

James was making his way back to their usual compartment at the end of the train, Peter scurrying after him. Sirius ambled in his friends' wake, slumping in defeat across the chairs. Remus followed them in a stilted fashion, stopping at the compartment entrance, not sure whether he was still accepted. _I don't deserve them, _he told himself viciously. _They've always accepted me for what I am, and now I've just thrown it all away over a person who has never treated me with respect._

James looked up from where he was sitting, seeing Remus hovering, unsure. "Don't you have Prefect duties or something?"

His friend's blunt words hurt Remus. "I'd rather sit with you guys," he said softly.

James shrugged. Remus slowly walked in to sit down opposite Sirius, who seemed to be ignoring him.

He couldn't take it any longer.

"I'm sorry!" he blurted out louder than he had intended, causing all three boys to jump. Remus shook his head. "I don't know what I was thinking, I panicked, I didn't want to get you lot into trouble but I also didn't want to lose my Prefect badge because this is the first time I've ever been trusted with something so huge and important, but then I remembered how I wouldn't have any friends if you guys hadn't accepted me even though I'm a - a - " he couldn't seem to get the word out; he was breathing too quickly. "And my friends mean much more to me than a Prefect badge ever will." he concluded, rather out of breath.

The others stared at him. "Merlin, Remus," James whistled, looking startled. "I'm not _that _upset about it! I mean, I was rather miffed when Evans said that my birth was unfortunate, why would she say that? And - "

"Well, mate, you did tell her that her best friend resembled a - "

" - you weren't _exactly _standing up for me, but it's not like I'd write you off of my friend list or anything!" James burst out laughing, acting as if Sirius hadn't just made a rather good point. "And I honestly thought it was Black who was over-dramatic," he chuckled fondly. Remus felt his face break into a beam. He could always count on James to be loyal to his friends.

Sirius was looking at James with an amused expression on his face. "It's not always all about you, Potter, you know that?" He ruffled James's messy hair, making it stick out in all directions, before turning to Remus.

"I was beyond irritated that you were defending Snivelly instead of your best mate, and I still am," Sirius announced offhandedly, clear eyes boring into Remus. "But I have a good idea of how you can make it up to me." His smirk practically oozed mischief. Remus felt relieved, though slightly unsettled.

"Yup, Black's definitely the drama-queen," James concluded in satisfaction. Sirius ploughed on, ignoring James's sly comment.

"I think it's about time for you to do a Solemn Swear!" he clapped his hands together in eager triumph. Remus felt the blood leave his cheeks. The words _but I'm a Prefect now _lingered on his lips, only for him to clamp his mouth firmly shut. He knew how Sirius loved a bit of mischievous action. He practically _lived _on it.

James frowned slightly, addressing an excited Sirius. "But that's going against the game's rules of the order, isn't it? Bit unfair, wouldn't you say?"

Sirius waved him off, impatient. "It's under exceptional circumstances," he stated in a righteous air, and Remus flushed. "And since when do we follow rules?" he shoved James cheekily.

"Apart from the obvious fact that we were the ones who created these rules," James pointed out smartly, but Sirius wasn't listening.

"Isn't it a bit soon to play?" Peter piped up timidly for the first time, his voice ending in a squeak. Sirius whipped around to face him, and the podgy boy seemed to whither under Sirius's glare. "Only, we haven't even reached the school yet," Peter mumbled half-heartedly.

"Who cares?" Sirius snorted. "The sooner, the better."

He turned eagerly to face Remus, who quickly arranged what he hoped was a look of anticipation across his face.

"Now," Sirius began, face suddenly deadpan as the boys leaned closer together, James's face eager, Remus and Peter rather nervous. "Here is what we're going to do."

* * *

_A/N: Hey everyone! What do you guys think of Lily's dorm mates, Hestia and Mary? What about Lily's relationship with Prefect pal Remus? Do you think they'll all survive the year, stuck with eachother? Tell me tell me! Your reviews inspire me. :D_


	4. 4) Mischief Managed

_Chapter Four_

_Mischief Managed_

"I still cannot believe that boy!" Lily was close to crying in indignation as she sat opposite a rumpled-looking Severus.

"You should be used to it by now," Severus sneered, large nostrils curling in disgust. Lily sighed huffily. "I just don't see how someone could be such a downright _prat!"_

Lily had hurriedly changed into her school robes while she'd still been on the train, and while Severus had remained thankfully Stunned. She had then waited patiently for her friend to awaken, since she did not know how to bring people out of unconsciousness yet and she couldn't possibly ask an older student to do it for her because:

a) Fellow Gryffindors would be highly suspicious of having to help a slumbering Slytherin without a valid reason.

b) Although she attempted not to have a prejudice against Slytherins unlike most of her classmates, she just didn't have it in her to ask an older Slytherin for help (and she doubted that the Slytherin would oblige anyway).

c) Anyone who _did_ help would be bound to tell either the Head Boy or Girl, as it isn't everyday that boys are unconscious from Stunning spells on the train journey; it's usually back at school where most problems occur. Especially in the case of the Head Girl, discovering what had happened to Severus was not desirable.

So all in all, Lily Evans was in an irritable mood when Severus finally opened his eyes.

Rather grumpy after disembarking the train packed with shoving Third Years, Lily didn't even have it in her to search for the friendly groundskeeper, Hagrid, to say hello, like she usually did. Nonetheless, the unmistakeable cries of "Firs' Years, Firs' Years!" rang through the cold night air. _I'll visit him sometime this week, _she promised herself. The thought gave her a small smile. Some things never changed.

Having had to perform her new Prefect duties of rounding up all of the younger students, making sure everyone had spaces in the horseless carriages, Lily and a tagging-along Severus had been forced to share a carriage with a loud group of Gryffindor Second Year boys, much to their delight. As the carriage rattled along, jolting the students every now and then, the sky turned an ominous inky colour, the Second Years' voices grew steadily louder, and Lily and Severus's attitudes on life in general grew steadily darker.

"People like Potter shouldn't be _allowed _to attend schools where there are other live children," Lily was muttering, her rant growing as Severus's eager black eyes latched onto her angry face. "Who knows what creatures like him and his cronies are even capable of? I mean, I won't deny that they're bright, which is strange considering - "

"Bright?" Severus started, his voice incredulous. Lily scowled at him for interrupting her raving, which had actually been making her feel better. "How can you say that they're bright when they act like animals?"

Lily blew out air through her mouth in exasperation. "What I _meant _to say is that although they're bright, they use their talents in the _wrong_ ways, for instance creating the most hideous hexes when they could actually be doing something more useful!" Her voice had risen to a point where the chattering Second Years became momentarily silent, staring at her as if she were odd. Lily glared back at them threateningly until they quickly resumed their chatting.

"Potter and his friends couldn't manage to do something useful even if they tried," Severus snarled. "I don't think I've ever met anyone who is as conceited and insufferable in my life."

Lily frowned slightly. "Hang on there, Sev," she began as Severus watched her warily. "What about the kind of people _you've _been spending time with? Aren't they just as bad, if not worse?"

Severus was silent as Lily scrutinised him. "You don't know what you're talking about." he bit back rather viciously.

Lily flinched. "Explain why your friends landed a First Year girl in hospital, then." she said, her tone suddenly cold.

More silence. Lily studied Severus for a few minutes, waiting for him to speak, but it seemed that he had no plausible comeback. "Well." she frowned, continuing to look at Severus, who seemed to be avoiding her gaze. "I may detest Potter, but I'm afraid to say that I can't imagine him and Black hurting a little girl. To be frank, the very thought is disgusting."

Severus's head snapped up at her words, eyes burning. "What's your problem with me having other friends?"

Lily blinked, clearly shocked and upset by Severus's hostile reaction. "I just don't see why you choose to spend your time with people like that." she said quietly, lowering her eyes.

Severus watched wistfully as Lily's long lashes brushed against her pale cheek. His heart plummeted; he immediately felt guilty. He thought about reaching out and lifting her chin, but that thought quickly vanished as soon as it appeared. Severus sighed, slumping back against his seat, feeling as if something heavy was pressing his shoulders down.

"You never wrote back."

Lily's voice lilted back into his spiralling thoughts. "Or came around." She finally looked up at her friend, green eyes blazing. "You live just around the corner, Sev." Her tone was a little accusing.

This time it was Severus who looked away, feeling uneasy, as he always did when he was forced to discuss his family. "My father…"

"Again?" Lily's voice was immediately understanding. She reached out and held Severus's hand, empathetic. He jumped a little at the contact, his sallow skin tingling where her smooth hand fit into his. Lily didn't seem to notice Severus's reaction, as she continued talking softly, since she didn't need an answer from him.

"I was stuck with Petunia all summer." Severus made a face at the mention of her sister. Lily's voice turned bitter as her eyes drifted. "But I don't suppose my summer was worse than yours."

Severus winced, though he tried to remain impassive. "I'll soon be out of there." Lily gave her friend a reassuring smile.

In a sudden bout of anger, Severus lashed out, kicking in front of him. Unfortunately he hit the knee of one of the Second Years, who turned to scowl at him, face set. "Watch where you put your feet, Snivellus." It seemed that almost every Gryffindor knew of Severus's ridiculous nickname. The boy's friends snickered unkindly. "Why are you sitting with Gryffindors, anyway? Don't you have any mates in your own House?"

Lily was aghast at the young Second Year's over-confident, rude attitude, making her think instantly of James Potter, again. _Why does that deranged boy keep popping up in my head? _she thought, irritated at herself. The boy was grinning, as if he'd just said something extremely witty. He was quite big for a Second Year, as Lily thought about it. She opened her mouth, about to sort out the situation, but Severus got to it first.

"I'm friends with Mulciber and Avery, so you had better watch your mouth."

The Second Year shut up abruptly at Severus's mention of his friends, turning and whispering feverishly to his mates, who kept shooting Severus mutinous glares.

Lily looked at her friend, her mouth slightly open. "Sev! You can't threaten anyone, especially since it was you who kicked him!"

Severus gave her a defensive look. "Why are you standing up for him? _I'm _the one who's your friend!"

_Now I know how Remus feels, _Lily groaned internally. _Being a Prefect isn't turning into anything good. _Most of her thoughts had been rather morbid lately.

The carriage gave a final jolt, causing a flustered Lily to nearly land in the Second Year's lap. The boy winked at her as his friends' laughter rang through the crowded room. Lily snootily turned her nose upwards, looking down at the rowdy Second Year. "Respect for your elders, please." She saw the boy eye her Prefect badge warily.

"Can't respect _him," _the Second Year turned on a glowering Severus. "He kicked me!"

"Oh don't be so immature," Lily found herself snapping. "That was an obvious accident."

The boy was silenced with the look on Lily's face, though his eyes burned as he glared at Severus, who was now smirking. Lily rolled her eyes. _Boys._

So it was to no one's surprise that Lily was the first person out of the stuffy carriage.

As a herd of energetic students rushed past her, Lily stood still, a statue alone in a busy market square. She raised her shining eyes to the heavens, before _plop! _A droplet of water had landed in her eye. She wiped it away, frustrated.

"Lily?"

She felt certain that she was about to scream at whoever dared speak to her. Honestly, she had heard more than enough 'Lily?'s for one day. Whoever she spoke to, things seemed to turn around and bite her. She spun around, about to embark on a rant about 'disturbing a Prefect's piece of mind' (what was the point of being a Prefect if you couldn't have a little fun with the authority?) when she saw that it was Severus standing right behind her, another statue, gazing at her with concern. Lily realised that it must have looked like she had been crying. She laughed, the musical sound filling Severus's ears. "I'm perfectly capable of taking care of myself, Sev."

And then it started to rain.

Lil groaned out loud. "For the love of _Merlin!"_

"Wouldn't you much prefer the love of Potter, Evans?"

Lily clicked her neck as she turned to spot James Potter stalking past her, grinning from ear-to-ear. She scowled, feeling her temperature rise despite the pouring cold rain. "I'd _much _prefer the love of - " She quickly scanned the crowds to see who she could mention that would really annoy Potter. "…_Remus."_

James quickly composed his horrified expression as Sirius dragged him along by his robes, a timid-looking Remus trailing behind them. Remus shot Lily a desperate look, which she didn't quite comprehend, before disappearing into the growing throng leading to the entrance of Hogwarts.

_Now_ _whose knickers are in a twist? _Lily thought smugly, though she couldn't help but feel a little uneasy at the look on Remus's face. She shook her head, wet hair hanging in front of her face, before dragging Severus along by his robes towards the dry castle, much the same as Sirius had done to a gaping James.

Entering the Great Hall sopping wet, Lily sighed with relief at the sight of the thousands of candles floating above the four House tables. It immediately filled her with a warmth she couldn't explain. _Well, apart from the obvious fact that I'm sopping wet. _However, the warmth was rapidly replaced with a slight chill as she remembered that she couldn't sit with her only true friend, as it always had been. She mumbled "Later," to Severus, who was looking at her with a hurt expression. _What is everyone's problem today? _Sighing, she rushed off to make sure that all of the students were seated. _Merlin, I feel like a mother, _she thought, grumbling. _Perhaps this job would be much more suited to the likes of strictly-rule-abiding Mary MacDonald. _She suddenly smiled, remembering that it was her, after all, who had the badge, not snotty, stuck-up Mary, who seemed to remind her of Petunia, for obvious reasons.

In fact, she spotted Mary as she was pointing a couple of Third Year girls to an empty space. The swot was scowling at her with resentment whilst gazing longingly at Lily's shiny Prefect badge. Another memory struck Lily as she remembered the look of longing in Petunia's eyes when Lily had shown her the daisy...

_"Look what I can do, Tuney!"_

Lily ground her teeth together. _Honestly, it's not going to get you anywhere if you keep pining about the past-Petunia, _she scolded herself. She took to smiling sweetly at a bewildered Mary, restraining herself from giving a coy little finger-wave. _Now _that_ would be taking it too far._

Lily sat down next to a bubbling Hestia, who was jabbering to a politely listening Alice Prewett. Alice caught Lily's eye and smiled knowingly, as if to say _that Hestia Jones. _Alice was probably one of the only remotely normal people in Lily's dorm, between snotty Mary and bouncing Hestia. Lily liked Alice, although Alice was more than often in a world of her own. She loved to constantly sketch and doodle, and was pretty good at it, too. Her class notes were usually in a bit of a jumble, as nearly every space had been filled with a drawing of some sort. Whenever Lily borrowed Alice's notes, they were therefore quite tricky to decipher. She didn't know how Alice did it.

To Lily, life was much simpler if everything surrounding her was meticulously clean and in order. It was almost a habit, the way she organised her notes and tidied her belongings without complaint, enjoying herself in the process. Most of her dorm mates, as in Hestia and Alice, thought it was strange, but Lily would reply with a small shrug, saying "A clean room is a clean mind", something her mother had always repeated to her when she was a child.

Mary, to no one's surprise, was only similar to Lily in the way that she too was very organised. The difference between Lily and Mary was that whereas Lily let the other two girls do as they pleased when it came to tidying, Mary would stick her nose into everyone's business, shrieking _"Hestia, get your clothes off of the bathroom floor, and Alice, will you pick up your drawings!"_

Lily chuckled, and saw Alice and Hestia looking at her with slight concern. She shook her head at them, turning towards the platform in front of the teachers' table, where Professor McGonagall was swiftly walking forward, carrying a stool and an old, very familiar hat.

The Sorting seemed to go by very quickly, and Lily found her eyes wondering absently further down the table to where James Potter and co where sitting. Every single one of them seemed to be talking in low voices; Sirius and James looking extremely excited, Remus looking somewhat grim. Lily frowned. She had often wondered why Remus chose to be friends with Potter and Black, of all people. She supposed he did have to share a dorm with them, yet she thought that perhaps, and the thought scared her, the rowdy twosome sometimes took advantage of the quiet Remus. She shuddered; she would make sure Remus was alright after supper.

Lily looked up from her swirling thoughts, realising that the Sorting had ended, and that the Headmaster of Hogwarts was standing.

Albus Dumbledore wore robes of deep purple, much similar to the colour of the stormy sky above reflected in the raining magical ceiling. He smiled down at his students benignly, patiently waiting for silence. He need not have talked; his penetrating gaze seemed enough to keep the students in order. A hush fell over the school as every head turned towards Professor Dumbledore. The Headmaster's keen blue eyes roved over the children, and it seemed to Lily that his eyes met every student, giving her the distinct feeling of being x-rayed. She felt Dumbledore's eyes meet hers for a second, and saw them twinkle. Before she could make anything of this, the moment was gone, and the Headmaster was looking ahead as if their eyes had never met.

As Professor Dumbledore began his familiar start-of-the-year speech, Lily felt her mind wandering, which was unusual. This school year's start had her feeling detached from everyone else, when she would normally be bouncing in enthusiasm at being back, listening with rapt attention to Dumbledore's every word.

"And now, let us feast, for I am sure that is the only thing on your minds at this very second!" Professor Dumbledore chuckled, and with a mighty wave of his hands appeared the delicious food they had all been awaiting, as he had so correctly predicted.

Lily ate monotonously, listening with a dull detachment to the surrounding chatter. She found herself wondering if this year, there would be only four girls in their dorm, instead of five? Would the fifth bed remain empty, haunting the girls until they finished their time at Hogwarts?

"Can I talk to you, quickly?"

Lily nearly choked on her broccoli as she turned to meet sad olive eyes. "Remus," she managed to sputter with some dignity. _Thank you for dragging me out of my depressing thoughts, _she wanted to say, but wisely kept her mouth shut. The boy stood behind her, awkwardly shifting from foot-to-foot, as if he wasn't sure if he was supposed to be there. Lily glanced towards Potter - he was laughing uproariously at Black, who was shovelling chicken down his throat at inhuman speed. Lily felt slightly nauseous. She resolutely turned her back on the animals, facing an unsettled Remus. "How may I be of assistance, Prefect?" she said cheekily, attempting to lighten his mood. It didn't work.

"Why did you say that you'd prefer _my _love?" His words came out in a jumbled rush. Lily blinked.

"Oh," She'd nearly forgotten that by now. "I just wanted to irritate Potter," She looked up into Remus's eyes, sincere. "I'm sorry if I gave you the wrong impression. You're a great person." She had meant to say _friend, _before realising that she hadn't actually known him for that long. "I mean," She shook her head; she was muddling this all up. "I want us to be friends." Lily gave Remus an earnest smile.

Remus let out a breath that Lily hadn't realised he'd been holding. He seemed relieved; though just a little. "Listen," he began, rather urgent. Lily frowned. "I know that you and James have your differences - "

Lily let out a hollow laugh. "Certainly,"

Remus ploughed on, serious. "Just - _please _don't mention me around him, I mean, that you _like _me, or anything. It gets really complicated."

Lily's frown deepened. "I don't understand?"

Remus sighed. "I don't blame you," he muttered.

"Remus," Lily had suddenly remembered an earlier worry. He considered her warily. "Do Potter and Black - I mean, do they take advantage of you?" she blurted out.

This time it was Remus's turn to frown. "What?" This was clearly the last thing he expected her to say. To Lily's surprise, he let out a laugh. "Certainly not. They're the best mates I could ask for," She saw his gaze shift to James and Sirius, who were now making their asparaguses levitate above Mary MacDonald's unsuspecting head, attempting to laugh silently (without much success). "Honest."

Lily studied him for a second loner, noting his fond smile as he considered his friends. And it was in that second that she finally decided to believe him, reluctant as she was.

"And Severus - " she suddenly started, determined to get something more out of this rather odd conversation, but Remus silenced her with a look. He jerked his head towards Potter and Black, whose asparaguses had managed to get themselves tangled in a fuming Mary's plait.

"Later," he grinned at her, visibly more relaxed, before practically jogging off to join his friends. Lily smiled as she realised she had said the exact same thing to Severus.

She turned back to her food, only to realise that the main course had been replaced with pudding. She shrugged, about to reach for some fudge, when she felt another gaze upon her.

"Why were you talking to Remus Lupin?"

Lily found Hestia and Alice looking at her with interest. She turned back to take her fudge, at ease. "Why not?"

Hestia and Alice exchanged a knowing look. Lily hated it when they did that. She found herself realising that she actually _much_ preferred the company of boys, who were the simpler species. Girls were just too interchangeable. Look at Petunia…

"I mean, I suppose he's good-looking, in a lost-puppy sort of way," Hestia had been babbling. Lily blinked. _How do I always manage to successfully zonk out whenever Hestia is yabbering? _"But, well, isn't he a little… odd?"

Lily was pretty close to giving Hestia an eye-roll. "Define 'odd'." She had an idea of what Hestia was going to say, yet she felt like listening to the girl grapple for answers herself.

"Well, he's always been off-colour, wouldn't you say? And he never talks," Hestia looked aghast at this. _Yes, what a frightening concept for you to grasp, Hestia, _Lily thought wryly. "And he's _so _pale - "

"I'm pale," Lily interjected, pretending to look hurt. She couldn't help herself.

"Yes, well," Hestia warbled, looking for something plausible to say. "You're a porcelain kind of pale,"

"Classifying people's levels of paleness now, are we?" Lily said, amused.

"And he's, you know, a milky pale," Hestia stammered lamely, not sounding too sure of herself now.

"Milky pale? Really, Hestia," Lily groaned in exasperation, causing Hestia to look flustered.

"An off-milk colour, then! And what's with him always missing class? Honestly, I don't know _how _he doesn't manage to get in more trouble for all of that!" she concluded, rather out of breath.

"You do know that he's the other Prefect in our year, don't you?" Lily said, giving startled Hestia a sly grin.

"Really?" Hestia gobbled, trying to compose herself. Alice merely looked mildly surprised. Nothing much shocked that child.

"Yes, you can even go and confirm with Potter or Black for further proof, if you like," Lily smiled sweetly at Hestia, who turned red. All of the girls in her year had a bit of a fancy for either James or Sirius, much to Lily's annoyance. Whatever happened to brains rather than beauty? _Though I suppose Potter and Black unfortunately possess both, _Lily reflected grudgingly.

"I'll take your word for it," Hestia mumbled into her plate, resigned, returning to her food in surprising silence. Alice and Lily burst out laughing, having finally succeeded in making Hestia Jones shut up, even if it was just for a few peaceful minutes.

As the last dinner course disappeared, Lily rose, feeling full and considerably more content than she had when she'd arrived. She stretched before introducing herself to the nervous First Years with a smile, leading them up to the comfort of the Gryffindor Common Room whilst pointing out distinctive Hogwarts landmarks along the way.

"The staircases _move?!" _shrieked a young boy in both fear and wonder. Lily laughed as the students jumped, grabbing the banister as the staircase swung itself through the air.

"So do the paintings," she gestured towards a portrait of an old man grumbling to himself, eyeing the students beadily as they gasped, before saying: "Bah, humbug!"

"It really is magic," a girl whispered in awe to her wide-eyed friend as they took in their surroundings. Lily sighed reminiscently as she watched them, remembering the first time she had walked through Hogwarts' doors. She was rather enjoying herself. "Follow me," she smiled at the two girls.

The little group had reached their destination, which seemed to be nothing more than a large portrait of a large lady dressed in pink. "Good evening, Agnes," Lily said politely, nodding her head in the Fat Lady's direction.

"Ah, Lily," the Fat Lady winked at her. "My utmost congratulations on your becoming a Prefect! Not that it was unexpected, of course." Lily smiled gratefully as the Fat Lady's face turned professionally serious. "Password?"

Lily blinked once, then twice. The First Years tottered behind her, all looking drowsy. Many thoughts blossomed in Lily's head at once. _How am I supposed to know the new password? Why didn't I bother to find out? If only I hadn't been thinking of bloody James Potter for practically the whole suppertime… Some Prefect you are, Lily! _She was honestly at a loss of what to do.

"Gorliens," came a voice behind her, sounding a little out-of-breath. Lily whipped around to see a slightly panting Remus standing behind her, another crowd of gawking First Years trailing behind him.

She gave him a dazzling smile. "You're a life-saver," she sighed happily as they piled through the portrait entrance.

"Nope," Remus grinned as he walked past her. "Just a Prefect."

Lily chuckled happily as she gave the delighted First Years a brief tour of their new living quarters.

Finally having finished her tiring yet strangely satisfying duty, Lily dragged herself up the winding stairs to her dorm, where she found the other girls quietly getting ready for bed. It was most unusual to find her three dorm mates so silent, especially on the first night back, when Lily found her eyes drifting to the empty fifth bed. Unfortunately, that particular bed happened to be right next to hers.

She bit her lip, striding over to her bed and pulling off her robes with vigour, averting her eyes from the empty space beside her. As she struggled with getting her robes over her head, she felt a presence beside her shoulder.

"Listen, I'm sorry about what I said earlier, you know, about Remus," Hestia's voice was matter-of-fact; she didn't sound very sorry. _Typical strong-headed Hestia. _Lily didn't reply - she continued with her robes-struggle. "It's just, well, I thought that you really didn't like that crowd." Hestia was giving a nonchalant shrug as Lily managed to shove the last of her oppressive robes over her head.

"I don't," she started, instantly irritated with Hestia, who never seemed to cease with her chatter. "He's just… different."

"Ooh," Hestia's eyes twinkled mischievously. "Like your Snivellus person? Is he… extra-special?" She gave Lily an annoying wink.

"Oh my gosh, Hestia, he's just completely different from animalistic Potter and Black, not every boy who I spend time with is someone I fancy." Lily grit her teeth together. "And in case any of you were wondering," she continued, turning to face both Alice and Mary too, who had been not-so-secretly listening in, "I don't fancy _Severus, _not 'Snivellus', we're just friends, not that it's any of your business anyway." She really was getting tired of the constant girly gossip that seeped through their dorm walls, since Lily knew that all of the girls in her year whispered about her seemingly 'strange' friendship with Severus.

"Take it down a notch, Lily, I was just trying to be nice." Hestia raised her hands mock-defensively, laughing too loudly.

"Well perhaps you should try a different approach," Lily struggled out of her uniform before pulling on her pyjamas, not looking at Hestia. "I don't know what everyone's problem with Severus is, he's never done anything bad to any of you."

"Wrong," Mary's sharp voice rang out through the room. "You're wrong." Lily turned to see Mary's eyes burning. "He and his Slytherin friends hexed Charlotte."

"Oh come on, as if more than half the boys in our year don't hex eachother silly?" Lily snapped. She saw Hestia's eyes flash in the direction of the empty bed.

"No, this was different." Mary suddenly looked really upset. "They really _hurt _her."

Lily felt cold, as if someone was breathing chilled air down her back. _Like a Dementor, _she thought. "What are you talking about?"

All three girls exchanged glances, and Lily felt like disappearing into her bed sheets. She felt abruptly exhausted, dead on her feet.

"Do you honestly think that your Snivelly friend is as innocent as he makes out to be?" Mary's voice rose to something near a nervous shriek.

"You don't even know him," Lily replied in a low voice.

"I know him enough to know that he is _not _to be trusted! Just _look _at what he did to Charlotte!"

"Mary, why do you always _insist _on dragging Charlotte into the conversation?" Hestia moaned.

"You can't just try to forget about her! Why do you all go on _pretending _that she never existed?"

_"Because we don't live in the past!"_ Lily realised it was her whose voice had risen. All three girls stared back at her.

"What's happened to you, Lily?" Alice's voice whispered out of the shadows after a spell of silence.

Lily slumped down on the edge of her bed, feeling a throbbing headache coming on. She closed her eyes, defeated. "I grew up."

"Ladies?"

_Does no one bother knocking around here anymore? _But when Lily opened her eyes, it was to see Professor McGonagall standing at their door, eyes moving warily from girl to girl. Lily realised what the teacher saw: Mary was on her feet, fists balled and eyes red. Hestia looked slightly scared, which was most unnatural for her boisterous character, and Alice's eyes were wide as she slunk half-concealed in the shadows, watching quietly. Professor McGonagall's mouth spread into a thin line.

"I'm sorry to bother you," the girls lowered their eyes, abashed, "but I have someone I need to introduce."

Lily's eyebrows mashed together in a frown. Wasn't the time for introductions way past? It was already ten o'clock.

Without warning, a tall girl stepped into the lamp-light from behind McGonagall. She really was uncommonly tall - if Lily didn't know better, she'd have thought the figure was a boy. But the girl was - strange. There was no other way to put it. Her hair was as black as a raven's wing, tumbling down to her hips - it looked as if she couldn't be bothered with a hairbrush. And her face - she was bone-pale, and her eyes were different colours; one was sky-blue, the other sea-turquoise. The stranger didn't have eyebrows or eyelashes. _Which is even stranger, _Lily reflected, _as her hair is so dark. _

The silence following was absolute.

Professor McGonagall cleared her throat decisively. "This is Torinn Mauler. She's here to replace - " her eyes flashed to Mary's shocked face. "Here to be your new roommate."

No one spoke. Torinn Mauler's intimidating gaze penetrated every girl. Lily held her stare; Torinn didn't flinch. It was as if she didn't need to blink. "Now I know that this is different, considering most students start at Hogwarts in their First Year, but this is an exception." McGonagall's eyes rove over every girls' face steadily, as if searching for a weakness. "I expect each of you to make our new student welcome." _ That sounded more like a threat than a statement, _Lily thought grimly. Then without another word or explanation, Professor McGonagall turned on her heel and left the girls to stare at eachother.

Lily was the first to break the filling silence. "Where is your luggage, Torinn?" she asked kindly. Torinn just looked at her.

"I haf no loogage." Lily jumped - she hadn't expected the girl to be a foreigner. Torinn's voice was low and guttural.

"Excuse me?"

Lily turned to shoot Mary a warning frown. _She is such an insensitive prick. _"Do you even speak English?" Mary glanced at Hestia, as if sharing a secret.

"Clearly she speaks English, Mary, otherwise why would she be at a British school?" Lily felt annoyed. She would hate to be in Torinn's position right now. Couldn't Mary at least make the new girl feel welcome on her first night away from home?

Lily turned back to Torinn before Mary could say something rude again. "Why don't you have any luggage? You need school books!"

Torinn just gave an accentuated shrug in reply, her bony shoulders looking pinched. Without another word, she glided over to the fifth bed, ripping the hangings around her, out of sight.

When Lily turned her gaze away from Torinn's silent bed, it was to see Hestia and Mary communicating silently. They immediately ceased when they realised that Lily was watching them with a frown on her face. She wanted to scold them for being so exclusive, but she didn't want Torinn to hear. She glared at the gossiping girls before resolutely pulling her own hangings around her bed, hugging her pillow to stop herself from crying. It had been a long day, and it was going to be an even longer night.

Then again, maybe the new girl felt worse.

"Remus!"

"Sod it, d'you think he's fallen asleep?"

"Doesn't matter either way, he's still got to do it."

"Right you are, Captain."

"Shut up, James."

_Maybe if I pretend to be trapped in a deep slumber, they'll let it go, _Remus tried to convince himself, though he knew that would never be the case, especially considering this was James and Sirius he was talking about. _Better get it over and done with before they decide to wake me up using other unknown methods. _Grudgingly, he opened his sleep-encrusted eyes. _Oh Merlin. _

"There you are, Sleeping Beauty." Remus could make out the glint of James's glasses, his friend's toothy grin.

"Not with the Muggle nursery rhymes _again,_ Potter."

"They're faerie tales!" James whined, as if this made them seem somehow more desirable. All this earned was a snort from Sirius.

"You keep telling yourself that. Anyway, up and at 'em, Lupin! Don't want to miss our little deadline."

"You're sure about that, aren't you," Remus grumbled under his breath, hauling himself out of his bed. He could barely make out the figures of his fanatical friends in the darkness. "What time is it, anyhow?" he yawned, ruffling his bed-head hair. _Ah great, picking up habits from James._

"The time we agreed on earlier, nutter." Sirius laughed.

"You're the nutter."

"Sod you."

Remus smiled. "Where's Peter?"

"Here," came a high-pitched squeak near the door.

"So eager to leave already, Pettigrew?" Remus could make out Sirius's smirk in the near-darkness. "I like it."

"No, I'm not - I mean, I - "

"The point is, Peter, no one really cares?" said James in mock concern. That shut Peter's stammering up abruptly.

"Right." Sirius clapped his hands together as Remus tried to 'shush' him, without much success. "Let's get this cracking!" He muttered _"Lumos" _under his breath, his wand tip alighting. "Are you ready, mate?" Remus knew that Sirius was directing this question at him. His friend's face was lit up with an eager hunger that Remus had come to acknowledge with uneasy, rather mad situations.

He wasn't ready. "Ready."

Sirius's grin widened, as did James's. "Cloak," Sirius barked in an offhand voice to his companion.

"Oi! What's the magic word?" James's eyes twinkled.

"James Potter is an attention-seeking prat?"

"You're far off, Black."

"Just pass me the sodding Cloak, James." Sirius huffed impatiently. James rolled his eyes, though he was still grinning. He whipped a silvery substance out from his pants pocket; the material seemed between liquid and solid.

"You do the honours,"

With that, James professionally whirled the Invisibility Cloak around the three boys, although it was admittedly getting harder to cover them as the boys were now so tall.

"Pettigrew, where've you scuttled off to you naughty boy?" Sirius teased, causing James to chortle and Remus to shake his head. "Come on, the longer we wait, the more we'll be suffocated by Potter's steadily expanding ego." James had stopped chortling to cuff Sirius on the head. The Cloak slipped a little. "Watch it," Sirius growled, baring his canines at an unfazed James.

Peter shuffled towards them and squeezed under the Cloak - the lack of space really was getting out of hand. "I think you should really consider cutting back on the cakes," Sirius pondered thoughtfully as Peter's rotund bum moved far too close for his comfort. Peter simply looked too nervous to reply.

"Follow me," James whispered with dramatic air.

"That doesn't make any sense, since in case you hadn't noticed we're all currently stuck under the Cloak together," Sirius grumbled.

"You're just upset because you're currently getting shoved into Peter's bum." James replied simply. Sirius grit his teeth together in agreement.

"Wait," Peter practically crashed into a still James, whose head had turned to face Remus, bringing up the rear. "Remus, do you have the solution?"

This question may have seemed strange to an innocent bystander, yet Remus nodded firmly, eyes flashing down to the tin in his hand. "Obviously," he grinned mischievously. James mirrored his expression before continuing his crusade.

They shuffled down to the portrait hole, fumbling as they climbed through the confined space. "Pettigrew, would you mind not rubbing your bum on me every chance you get?" Sirius threatened through a pursed mouth. Peter mumbled something unintelligible to which no one payed attention.

At last out of the stuffy corridor, they inched along the many hallways, grumbling all the while. James, Sirius and Remus were now all so tall that the Cloak barely covered the four of them - their feet were clearly visible.

"James, watch where you put your feet you clumsy chicken!"

_"I'm _the clumsy chicken? Says the one who can't stop clucking about Peter's buttocks under his breath."

"Well you would if he kept shoving it into your - "

"Shh!" The bickering boys skidded to a stop as Remus pulled on Sirius's pyjama top.

"Stop groping, Lupin."

"No! Mrs Norris."

This sentence had the desired silencing effect on all four boys.

Keen red eyes glowed out of the shadows from beside a statue. "Sodding mongoose," Sirius muttered under his breath vindictively. Remus supposed he was remembering their last unfortunate encounter with the creepy caretaker's cat. It was as if Mrs Norris was caretaker Filch's personal slave, although she did his bidding more than willingly; now Filch had another pair of feet to patrol corridors after hours, or rather, four feet.

"Quick, crouch down!" Remus hissed.

"Looking sharp, Lupin," James praised. With difficulty, the boys bent their knees, knocking eachother in the process. _At least we're slightly better concealed now, _Remus fretted, _but definitely more uncomfortable. _

"I solemnly swear that mangy thing has it in for us!"

"Quit making solemn swears, Sirius. And of course it has it in for us if you keep on whining and give us away!"

Sirius glared at each and every one of them. "Peter, do something!" he hissed.

Peter's mouth fell open in shock, perhaps because this was one of the rare times that Sirius called him by his first name, or because suddenly the issue of Mrs Norris had fell upon him to solve. His watery eyes moved to James fearfully. "W-What am _I _supposed to do?"

Sirius rolled his eyes impatiently. "Are you really as thick as you look, Pettigrew?" _So it's back to the surname immediately, then, _Remus mused. "Untie your drawstring."

"Now who's the one who's groping?" Remus teased, though he too was baffled at Sirius's order.

"Not you too, Remus!" Sirius shook his head. James was watching Sirius in amusement. "Just give them to me."

Peter gawked for a few more seconds, before he pulled out his pyjama pants' drawstring, hands shaking slightly, handing them to Sirius, who grinned in response.

"Now watch and learn, boys,"

Peter's eyes were wide as he watched Sirius levitate his drawstring out from under the Cloak. Mrs Norris's eyes gleamed even redder, if that was possible, as she tracked the drawstring with her peripheral cat-vision. _How can she not be evil, with those red eyes to top it off? _Remus inwardly shuddered.

Sirius was having fun as he made the string wobble like a worm just above the cat's nose. Mrs Norris finally dropped her composed facade, playfully catching the wiggling string in her paws like the cat she was supposed to be.

"And that is why they say that I've got the looks _and _the brains in our group." Sirius chimed with a flourish of his wand as Mrs Norris scuttled off after the crawling string.

"What? Who says that?" James scoffed, though he sounded irritated. Remus shook his head. _Trust James and Sirius to bicker over something like that. _

"Um, what am I supposed to do about my pants?" Peter whimpered, clutching his baggy trousers.

"You'd better hold them up, I don't want your bum any closer to me," Sirius wrinkled his nose. "Onward, men!"

After more scuttling and whimpering from Peter's direction, the dysfunctional group finally reached their destination. James gave a satisfied sigh, before whipping the Cloak off of everyone.

"James! We could be seen!" Peter looked very much as if he wanted to crawl back into the comfort of his bed.

"Only if you keep whimpering," Sirius looked perfectly at ease, of course. "Ugh," He quickly jumped away from Peter's behind, eyeing his slipping pyjama pants.

"Right," James immediately took charge, face set. "We are currently lurking in the dingy dungeons, housing those unfortunate persons who found themselves Sorted into the sadistic House of Slytherin."

"Dun dun duuuunn," Sirius sang in a low voice for effect, grey eyes sparkling wickedly. Peter looked even more scared by this. Remus felt a grin slip onto his face, although he was sure his stomach had just plummeted.

James turned slowly to face Remus, eyes twinkling in the moonlight behind his glasses. "This is your time to shine, Remus old boy,"

Remus was sure he would gag. Instead he gave James a smile which he hoped was convincing.

"Now remember the signature, won't you?" James's face had turned suddenly serious.

Remus tried a chuckle. "Come on, have a little trust in me." James clapped him on the back.

"Aw, look at him," Sirius had been watching Remus all the while with a sly grin. "He's all fluttery and excited! He is such a good _pet!"_

"Sirius - " Remus protested, before his friend had ambled over to him, scratching his hair madly as Remus attempted to pry him off without success.

"Who's a good boy? _Who's _a good boy?"

"Think it's about time you got your own dog, mate," James mused, watching his friends' playful exchange with amusement.

"Like dear mother would ever let me," Sirius scoffed, offhand, as he finally let go of Remus, who was struggling to breathe properly.

"Can't you ever be serious, Black?"

"I'm _always _Sirius Black." Sirius gave a haughty toss of his head as James rolled his eyes, grinning. "Hope you're not too out of breath to perform your mission now, Lupin?" Sirius winked at Remus, who gathered himself quickly.

"Never," Remus said. "You know how I love a life of adventure, me."

James and Sirius laughed, and Peter, although looking a little nervous at the prospect of being left alone with the two rowdy boys, smiled at his friend. "Good luck, Remus,"

Remus felt suddenly proud as he turned to the nondescript stone wall they were facing. He took a deep breath, closing his eyes. _"Anguem." _

The wall gave an ominous moaning sound as it slid sideways to reveal a long, stone corridor, lined with flickering lights that cast strange shadows. Remus felt a shudder run down his spine. The password a Ravenclaw had given him at supper had worked. He was a little disappointed.

James gave a low whistle as he peered down the passageway. "Trust the Slytherins to live in a crypt resembling a troll's cave,"

"Where they belong," Sirius added viciously, though he was grinning in an evil sort of way. He grabbed the Cloak from a transfixed James, shoving it into Remus's hanging hands. "I solemnly swear…" he started, grey eyes flashing meaningfully to a gawking Remus.

"…that I am up to no good." Remus managed to whisper. Then, without turning around to look at his friends, he draped the Cloak over his slightly shaking body, stepping forward. As the stone wall creaked closed behind him, Remus whipped around to catch the watery blue eye of Peter as the boy stared after his friend, scared.

_Trapped. Like the animal you are._

No. He mustn't panic. Taking a few deep breaths in an attempt to steady himself, he clutched the tin in his hand tight, walking to the entrance straight ahead.

He paused at the ornate entrance, eyes taking in the scene ahead of him.

James was wrong: the Slytherin Common Room had a grand, almost aristocratic atmosphere to it, though it still gave Remus the shivers as he caught sight of a skull hanging above the large fireplace. _A sodding skull? Why?! _ He couldn't wait to tell James and Sirius. _If I ever get out, that is. _No. Positive thoughts.

This room certainly had the opposite feeling to the cosy warmth of the Gryffindor Common Room. The place was lit with green lamps, and furnished with dark wooden, rather straight-backed chairs. Remus's wide eyes swiftly moved to one of the windows, sure that something had just caught his eye. He nearly jumped out of his skin: gazing back at him was something that had long, curling green tentacles and sharp little horns sticking out all over its body, a leer on its devilish face. Remus wasn't sure if the creature could see him under the Cloak or not, but he certainly felt like it could. The creature banged its little fists against the window, its mouth open in something like a cackle, before swimming away as quickly as it had appeared.

_Swimming. _Remus remained frozen, mouth agape. He couldn't believe that the Slytherins actually had windows looking into the lake. What if the Giant Squid decided to pop by for a hello? Or a horde of angry mermen chose to hammer their spears against the flimsy glass window?

He had to stop his vivid imagination from getting the better of him. _Stay focused. _But how?

He swivelled slowly, eyes calculating his options. _Where is the Fifth Year boys dormitory? _Remus decided on a whim to look in the same place that his dorm was. _We really didn't think this through properly. _He bit his lip, shakily shuffling up the stone steps to what he hoped was the right destination.

Remus hadn't realised that his eyes were closed until he opened them, finding himself in a room decorated much similar to the dark Common Room. He blinked, eyes flashing towards a sound to his left. Heart beating wildly, he saw the sleeping figure of Severus Snape, greasy hair covering his face, realising that the sound was actually a snort of a snore. Remus suppressed a sudden strange urge to laugh. _So this is the right place. Just need to get this over and done with._

More scared than ever, Remus managed to take off the Cloak with care, feeling awfully vulnerable. He took out his wand, hand shaking, and muttered a spell to open the tin he was holding. Inside the tin was a strange product that James and Sirius themselves had invented: _Liquifying Goo. _James had been extremely proud, and Sirius had tested their new invention on an unsuspecting Third Year Slytherin earlier that day. The product had the exact effect they had been hoping for, much to their delight.

With practised motions, Remus waved his wand at the oozing yellow goo, levitating it before spreading it like butter across the floor of the Slytherin's dorm. It dawned on him in his stupor that it would not do to remain on the floor while he spread the goo, in fear of being stuck there himself until morning. Remus shuddered at the thought. Wisely, he balanced himself on top of Severus's closed trunk as the latter turned noisily in his bed. _I am going to kill James and Sirius for making me do this, _he thought angrily. _Especially Sirius, as it was his bloody idea in the first place!_

Before long, the goo had successfully oozed itself across the remainder of the floor, solidifying expertly so that at first glance, one might think the floor of that the Slytherins' dorm was a dull yellow colour. Remus gave a sigh of relief, before he remembered he had nearly forgotten the most important thing. He turned to the dorm mirror, and from his uncomfortable position balancing on Severus's trunk, messily etched the words with his wand: _Mischief Managed._

James was all about getting a name for themselves, though in secret. He said that whenever they completed a particularly brilliant prank, they must never haste to sign somewhere these important words, for recognition that their mischief-making had been complete. "It'll be like a secret society," James had marvelled, hazel eyes twinkling as they always did whenever he was excited. "Except that there are only four members." Remus remembered Peter beaming at this.

_There. _Remus's hands ached from all the wand work. _Happy, James? _He clicked his neck whilst looking at his work, before realising that he hadn't left anywhere for him to put his feet.

Remus's heart started beating frantically, as if it wanted to leap out of his chest and leave him, stranded like he was. His wide eyes jumped around the room, searching desperately for any way out of this mess he had created. _What will McGonagall say when she finds out that I did this? And Professor Dumbledore? Will I lose my badge? _Remus's lip quivered. _Will I be expelled?_

His eyes rested on the only possible way out. He would simply have to travel via the Slytherins' beds - there was no other way. Remus cursed himself inwardly again and again, gritting his teeth.

Slowly, trying not to shake, he tentatively nudged one of his feet onto the end of Severus's bed. The slumbering figure grunted, only to turn in his sleep. Remus breathed out through his nose, carefully placing his other foot on the bed, eyes tracking Severus the whole time. Thankfully, it seemed that the boy had sunk even deeper into sleep, for he did not stir again.

Remus closed his eyes, then opened them again. It was only one more bed before he was close enough to reach the door. He could do this. _No I can't._

Biting his lip, Remus jumped.

He landed on the other boy's bed, causing it to groan and creak. _Why in the name of Merlin are these beds so old? _he winced. The sleeping boy sprang up, hair wild, eyes large as he looked to see what had awoken him. By this time Remus had jumped without a second thought onto the clear floor of the entrance and was running, cloak off, not caring who he woke up, just knowing that he had to get out of there before the boy saw him.

Remus thought he heard voices behind him, but he didn't stop. By the time he reached the end of the gloomy corridor he was wheezing. The stone wall creaked open too slowly, and Remus found the time to quickly throw the Cloak on top of him. Now he heard footsteps, he was sure of it. _The others better have gone back to the dorm, _he thought in a desperate haze as he scooted out of the Slytherin Common Room like a mouse out of its hole, the wall groaning shut behind him. He ran and ran and ran, trying to ignore the growing pain in his left leg where he had mauled himself during the last full moon. He skidded to a halt in front of the Fat Lady's portrait, breath coming out unevenly as he clutched his side.

"Excuse me?" Remus panted, looking for signs of life in the sleeping portrait. "Gorliens." he urged.

The Fat Lady slowly opened her eyes, taking in the scene before her. "And what do you think you're doing up so late, young man?" She scowled. "I don't suppose you're part of that rowdy group earlier? No respect," she tittered.

Remus was momentarily struck dumb before an idea blossomed into his head like a flower. He accentuated his wheezing, promptly falling dramatically onto his knees, which he didn't really mind doing. "I," he spoke in short gasps. "Have a-asthma-a…"

The Fat Lady's eyes widened abruptly. "Goodness," she stood up. "I don't know what that is, but you certainly don't look too - "

"P-please," Remus began choking, although he was in actual fact trying to stop himself from laughing. _How can I possibly laugh at a time like this? _He didn't know, he didn't care.

Thankfully the Fat Lady seemed to have bought his act, for she swung open her portrait without further hesitation. Before she could notice that Remus had made the whole thing up, he scuttled through the portrait hole, tears of unbeknown laughter running down his face.

Before entering his cosy dorm, Remus swung the Cloak around himself once more, wanting to see how his friends were reacting. He grinned evilly: he felt like a new person. A proper prankster.

He edged into the room, seeing that someone had turned on a lamp. James was pacing up and down restlessly, while Peter watched him in silent terror. Sirius was slumped against his bedpost, his head in his hands. Remus stifled a laugh: he had never seen James and Sirius so vulnerable.

James stopped his pacing abruptly, causing Peter to flinch. "When will he be back?"

Sirius raised his head, his expression one of distress. "What if he doesn't come back?" he spat. "What if those Slytherins are doing awful things to him this very sodding moment?"

"Don't," James breathed, eyes flashing to the door as if expecting Remus to come skipping in any minute. "He'll make it. I know he will."

Remus smiled, deciding that even though it was their fault that he had to do that gut-wrenching prank in the first place, he needn't make them fret any longer. _James believes in me._

With a flourish he whipped off the Cloak, grinning from ear-to-earn, eyes large with new-found adventure. "Gotcha!"

Peter jumped while emitting a high-pitched shriek, James's glasses slipped down his nose and Sirius sprang up from his slumped position on his bed. "You made it, mate! You made it out alive!" he cried.

Remus rolled his eyes, still smiling widely. "'Course I did, didn't I?" he narrowed his eyes at a gawking Sirius. "I was watching you for about five minutes, and I solemnly swear you looked like you were about to cry." he mocked. Sirius leapt at his friend, punching him hard on the shoulder.

"You've got nerve." he grinned back at Remus, grey eyes suddenly lighter.

Remus looked at James. "I did it," he breathed, holding up the empty tin of goo as a souvenir.

James clapped him on the back, eyes twinkling. "Mischief Managed."

* * *

_A/N: Hey fanficcers! What do you make of Torinn and Charlotte? Does Lily know Severus as well as she thinks? And what will happen the next day after Remus's prank? The reason why I updated __this chapter so quickly is because I wrote it roughly the same time as the previous one, just adding a few things. Enjoy, keep reviewing! :D_


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